RESEARCH REVEALS GOOD NEWS FOR EMPLOYERS:Predicting future health care costs can be effective and affordable

ST. PAUL, Minn. (June 25, 2010) — When it comes to managing employee health carecosts, the ability to forecast future cost trends comes in handy. Not only does this knowledgehelp employers set budgets; it enables them to design their employee wellness or total healthmanagement strategy to mitigate costs down the road. Using historical health care claims topredict future costs and identify opportunities for targeted outreach has long been the industrystandard for identifying employees for disease management, but this type of analysis can comewith a hefty price tag for employers.