QualChoice of North Carolina launches web site

August 26, 1999

QualChoice of North Carolina, Inc. has launched a new web site (www.qualchoicenc.com) to keep customers better informed about their health plans and to provide up-to-date wellness information, company officials said.

"We have created a presence on the Internet to better communicate with our current members, and to reach potential customers who might be interested in our health plans," said Bill Evans, the company''s marketing manager. "The web site represents another example of our commitment in maintaining a member-centered managed care company."

QualChoiceNC.com - launched earlier this month - has completed its first stage of a three-stage development plan that continually increases capability for interactivity at each stage of development, Evans said. Eventually, customers will be able to sign up for health plans and to change their current plans via the Internet. Also, doctors and other providers of care will be able to develop efficiencies in their practices in some of the later stages of development.

The new site allows employers who are looking for a health plan to scan sample benefit plans, search for participating doctors, e-mail the company for more information, and search for wellness information. Also, members can now e-mail questions to customer service, fill prescriptions on-line, search for a doctor in the QualChoice network and find information through a health library.

"More and more people, including the elderly, are using the Internet to get valuable information. We believe that by providing this service, we can make it easier for customers to take charge of their own health care. We can also better inform our members of benefits already available to them within their current plans that will help keep them healthy," Evans said.

QualChoice, founded five years ago by The North Carolina Baptist Hospitals Incorporated, serves 80,000 customers primarily in central and western North Carolina. The company has been ranked number one in customer satisfaction in the Southeast by an independent study of managed care organizations.

QualChoice''s physician network includes 1,700 board-certified specialists and experienced family practitioners.

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Contact: Bill Evans (336) 716-0992

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