APPLETON, Wis., Oct. 13, 2008 — Mercer, a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services, and Quest Analytics, L.L.C., a software solutions firm, today announced a strategic relationship that is intended to enhance Mercer's ability to help companies make health care decisions.
Quest Analytics provides software tools and data that allow employers to compare health plans based on a combination of access and quality. With this new relationship, Mercer consultants can provide a more comprehensive evaluation of a health plan network in an effort to help employers in their health plan selection process.
"While measuring access to provider networks is an important part of the health plan selection process, we wanted to align ourselves with tools that allow us more functionality and can help transcend the selection process," said Gary Bell, a principal with Mercer's health and benefits business. "Our agreement with Quest Analytics allows us to help our customers apply all the historic methods of measuring network access, but also allows us to provide a bridge into blending access with quality."
"For years employers have made network selections based on the number of employees that had access to a provider within 10 miles. Our approach provides a natural evolution to the selection process and allows employers to factor in the impact that quality, in addition to access, has on their outgoing health care spending," said John Weis, co-founder of Quest Analytics. "Our technology, combined with Mercer's expertise, can help control these costs efficiently. It's no longer acceptable just to understand an employee's access to providers without factoring in quality."
About Quest Analytics
Quest Analytics, L.L.C. provides software solutions to health plans, consultants and employers to evaluate health care provider access, quality outcome measures and member communications. Through its software solution, customers can generate analysis comparisons on any health plan in any U.S. market. For more information, visit http://www.questanalytics.com.
About Mercer
Mercer is a leading global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services. Mercer works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital issues, designing and helping manage health, retirement and other benefits. It is a leader in benefit outsourcing. Mercer's investment services include investment consulting and multi-manager investment management. Mercer's 18,000 employees are based in more than 40 countries. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. For more information, visit http://www.mercer.com.
Contact:
Shelly Weis
Quest Analytics
920.739.4552
Email
http://www.questanalytics.com
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