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Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Newsroom

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Joins Community Health Choice Network

Clinic's 50+ Pediatricians Now More Accessible to Low-Income Families

Houston (April 15, 2009)—Families with children enrolled in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through Community Health Choice, Inc. now have access to high-quality care from more than 50 Kelsey-Seybold Clinic pediatricians. Kelsey-Seybold joined Community Health Choice's CHIP provider network effective April 1.

"Kelsey-Seybold's focus on families and preventive care makes it a perfect fit for the Community Health Choice network," said Kelsey-Seybold's board chairman, Dr. Spencer Berthelsen. "Through our relationship with Community Health Choice, we will make high-quality, coordinated care available to even more Houston-area children."

Community Health Choice is a managed-care organization and contractor of the CHIP program, which provides health coverage to children from low-income families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private insurance. An affiliate of the Harris County Hospital District, Community Health Choice coordinates health coverage for more than 20,000 children in southeast Texas through the CHIP program. Through its network of more than 4,000 doctors and 46 hospitals, Community Health Choices serves over 140,000 members, including Texas Children's Hospital.

Community Health Choice continually strives to expand its affiliations to provide our members access to more physicians and neighborhood locations to better serve their health care needs," said Ken Janda, president and CEO of Community Health Choice. "Our partnership with Kelsey-Seybold expands our mission to improve access to and delivery of affordable, comprehensive, quality, customer-oriented health care to our CHIP members."

As a member of the Community Health Choice's CHIP provider network, Kelsey-Seybold will treat children from Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, and Walker counties. Kelsey-Seybold pediatricians will now accept CHIP coverage through Community Health Choice at 12 convenient locations throughout the Houston area: Clear Lake Clinic, Cypress Clinic, Fort Bend Medical and Diagnostic Center, Humble Clinic, Katy Clinic, Kingwood Clinic, Main Campus, Pasadena Clinic, Silverlake Clinic, Spring Medical and Diagnostic Center, The Vintage, The Woodlands Clinic and West Clinic.

"Health status in childhood is often an indicator of health throughout life, and we are excited about helping more kids get off to a healthy start," said Dr. Richard Byrd, F.A.A.P., chief of Kelsey-Seybold's department of pediatrics. "Comprehensive CHIP benefits provided through Community Health Choice include preventative services such as regular check ups, vaccines, and eye exams that are vital to maintaining long-term health."

To learn more about Community Health Choice or to select a Kelsey-Seybold pediatrician as a primary care physician under its CHIP plan, call 713-295-2294 or 1-888-760-2600.

ABOUT COMMUNITY HEALTH CHOICE

Community Health Choice, Inc. (CHC) is a nonprofit HMO licensed by the Texas Department of Insurance. CHC's network of over 4,000 doctors and 46 hospitals serves more than 140,000 members, including beneficiaries of the Medicaid STAR program in six counties in the Greater Houston area. CHC also delivers the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the CHIP Perinatal program in these and 14 additional counties in the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast region. CHC, a subsidiary of the Harris County Hospital District, is accredited by URAC for its health plan operations as well as its disease management programs addressing perinatal care, asthma, diabetes and adolescent depression.

About Kelsey-Seybold

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic is Houston's premier multispecialty group practice, founded in 1949 by Dr. Mavis Kelsey in Houston's renowned Texas Medical Center. More than 850 physicians and allied health professionals practice at 40 locations in the Greater Houston area. Kelsey-Seybold offers quality medical care in 65+ medical specialties. The organization operates the largest freestanding Ambulatory Surgery Center in the state of Texas and offers state-of-the-art Varian TrueBeam and Varian Edge radiation therapy technology at a nationally accredited Cancer Center. An accredited Sleep Center, comprehensive laboratory services, advanced imaging and diagnostics, 24 onsite Kelsey pharmacies and one specialty pharmacy, and MyKelseyOnline, a secure web portal, are part of its comprehensive offerings. Kelsey-Seybold partners with major insurers to offer value-based commercial health plans. KelseyCare Advantage, a Medicare Advantage plan offered to Houston-area beneficiaries and affiliated with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, has achieved the coveted 5-out-of-5-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid for eight consecutive years.

Kelsey-Seybold has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as the nation’s first accredited Accountable Care Organization and is home to a nationally accredited Breast Diagnostic Center and Endoscopy Center.

Kelsey-Seybold Clinic achieved a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 91. NPS is the global standard for measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction. An NPS score of 70 or higher is considered by industry experts to be "world class" and an indicator of overwhelming customer loyalty.

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