January 31, 2008
For Immediate Release

Contacts:
Gayle Griffithe
gayle@iacunato-mclane.com

Dawn Swett
dawn@iacunato-mclane.com

888-356-6406

Alameda County Seniors and Disabled Populations Get Affordable Health Care That Maximizes Health and Well-Being

Alliance CompleteCare Serves More than 200 Members in First 30 Days and Opens New Community Outreach Center

ALAMEDA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2008 - Seniors and disabled populations in Alameda County are getting health care that is affordable and convenient, thanks to a new program called Alliance CompleteCare, offered by the Alliance for Health The program is available to seniors and disabled people who qualify for both Medicare and Medi-Cal. The Alliance began serving members on January 1, 2008. More than 200 Alameda County residents have already joined.

Alliance CompleteCare is Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan (SNP) that combines Medicare, Medi-Cal and Part D drug benefits. Special coverage for those covered by both Medicare and Medi-Cal is important because the benefits offered through these two programs often overlap and have different rules and limits. It can be hard to understand what's covered or which program will pay.

Alliance CompleteCare solves these problems by combining the benefits into one easy-to-use plan. A personal Care Advisor is assigned to everyone who joins the plan. Care Advisors coordinate the health care services that each member needs, and help members get the most from the benefits available.

"Alliance CompleteCare is a new program, but we are not new to the community," said Ingrid Lamarault, CEO for the Alliance. "We've been serving lower-income seniors and others in Alameda County for more than a decade. With this new offering, we'll continue to deliver high quality health care that our members need and deserve."

Alliance CompleteCare members can choose from more than 180 primary care physicians located throughout Alameda County. Members also have access to nearly 350 specialists including cardiologist, podiatrists, optometrist, gastroenterologists, and others, and over 200 pharmacies. Every hospital in Alameda County is part of the Alliance CompleteCare network. Transportation assistance is offered to plan members.

To further enhance access for its members, the Alliance opened a new community outreach office in downtown Oakland earlier this month. This new facility makes it even easier for members to meet face-to-face with Alliance CompleteCare representatives. Information about program benefits and resources is available via a new Web site: www.alamedacompletecare.org also launched this month.

"As we continue to grow our Alliance CompleteCare membership, we'll proactively add to our provider network," said Lamirault. "And we'll continue to enhance the services we offer because we're committed to maintaining - and even improving - the health and well-being of every Alliance CompleteCare member."

About the Alliance
Established in 1996, Alameda Alliance for Health is a local, not-for-profit, state-licensed health plan committed to making high quality health care services accessible and affordable to low income residents in Alameda County.

The Alliance is dedicated to maintaining or improving the health and well-being of its members and currently provides comprehensive health care services to over 90,000 Alameda County residents through programs that include Alliance CompleteCare, Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids and Alliance Group Care.

For more information, please visit www.alliancecompletecare.org.

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