KEENAN HEALTHCARE RELEASES 2007 HEALTH CARE SURVEY FINDINGS

Rising Medical Costs Remain the Greatest Challenge for Health Care Organizations

TORRANCE CA, May 2, 2007 -- Keenan HealthCare released the findings of their 2007 Health Care Strategy Survey. This survey reviews the status of health care benefits within the health care industry. In total, 86 California health care organizations were surveyed, representing 212 hospitals across the state. “With this survey, we took the pulse of the healthcare industry’s most pressing issues and came up with industry-specific benchmark information, as well as a new perspective on the common challenges of health care benefits costs shared across the industry throughout California,” said Steve Richter, Senior Vice President, Keenan HealthCare. A key finding is that rising medical cost remains the most significant challenge health care organizations face in managing their benefit programs, with the annual medical benefit cost per covered employee in 2007 coming in at $8,100. Other key findings include: The average 2007 cost increase ranges from 8% for PPO programs to 11% for EPO programs. Health care organizations are bearing most of the cost increase burden.  Fifty-seven percent are offering a medical plan at no cost for the employee. Risk reduction, including health management programs like health risk assessment, wellness and disease management, is a prominent strategy going forward.  Forty percent of organizations have implemented risk reduction strategies; an additional 51 percent are planning or considering risk reduction strategies for 2008-2009. Retiree medical coverage is now offered by 42 percent of surveyed health care organizations.  While most non-health-care employers are reducing or dropping retiree medical coverage, the benefit is growing among health care organizations. For a copy of the Executive Summary or more details on what you can do to minimize healthcare costs, please send a request to Tim Crawford: tcrawford@keenan.com. About Keenan Keenan & Associates, headquartered in Torrance, CA, was founded in 1972. Keenan has grown to the 18th largest insurance broker in the United States. With a network of offices located throughout California and a staff of more than 600 insurance specialists, Keenan continuously provides unparalleled service and customized solutions to our clients. Keenan is a full service broker, dedicated to providing superior insurance products and services. Our exceptional growth is directly related to our concentration on meeting the risk management, employee benefits, workers' compensation and property & liability consulting and brokerage objectives of public entities, health care systems and high-tech firms. For more information, call 1.800.654.8102, or email info@keenan.com. Visit our web site at www.keenan.com.