Our business model is important because it is based upon solving a very big problem. We are rewarded for providing a compelling value proposition: we save our clients money…improve the health of their constituents…afford them budget certainty by accepting underwriting risk …and structurally lower the rate of inflation they experience. Because of our leadership and track record, governments turn to us to help them solve additional emerging challenges.
To effectively manage a business like this you have to be close to it. We firmly believe that taking full underwriting risk for vulnerable populations REQUIRES us to be a company with true accountable, P & L bearing, health plans that are engaged in the communities we serve in a real, meaningful way. You cannot effectively serve this segment of the population from a comfortable distance. Our marketing teams, nurses and social workers will continue to leave the comfort – and yes, relative safety - of their offices and go into the communities we serve to make a difference in peoples’ lives as well as produce our results.
Telling Our Story
At AMERIGROUP, we will work harder to tell our “Real Stories”…the personal testimonies of members we have helped as well as the heroic efforts of our nearly 800 doctors, nurses, and social workers who have helped them. We will also talk about an underappreciated component of our value proposition--the relentless fraud and abuse of the system that our administrators uncover and turn over to our state partners and authorities. This collective story is the AMERIGROUP story:
- AMERIGROUP is providing access to care to thousands who previously had no access;
- AMERIGROUP is helping states build systems that work and control costs;
- AMERIGROUP does save money that allows more to have coverage.
Understanding Trends
We are also seeing a trend that “blurs” the lines between the commercial and public sector market segments. We believe this is due not only to the ever increasing ranks of the uninsured but also structural changes underway in components of the commercial markets, particularly in the areas of small group and dependant coverage. Many of of our members have previously been covered by commercial insurers, have access to the internet, and are employed.
Finally, we believe the role of government is changing and we see it more involved in regulating, supporting and even partially subsidizing healthcare beyond the traditional safety net. We are not signaling an entry into the commercial space, but we do expect that as reform ideas take shape and market dynamics evolve, the positioning of the Company will allow us to address opportunities in adjacent segments of the market we primarily serve.
Summary: Our Future
AMERIGROUP will keep our mission-driven focus on quality. We have recommitted ourselves and expanded our notion of what this means. Whether outcome measurements for members; choices to promote independent living; the provider experience, our workplace environment or the quality of earnings, we recognize that consumers, providers, employees and shareholders have many choices and that we want to be known for the caliber of our work and the return on investment at every level.
EXCERPT: REMARKS OF PRESIDENT & CEO JAMES G. CARLSON
Fourth Investor Day, New York City
September 21, 2007