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Hythiam Announces Catasys Contract with Coventry Health Care, Inc. Unit

^{Published on 2011-01-05 10:11:15 - Market Wire}
 

LOS ANGELES--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Hythiam, Inc. (OTCBB:HYTM) announced today that the Company has entered into a multi-year agreement with Coventry Health Care of Kansas, Inc., a subsidiary of Coventry Health Care Inc., to provide the Catasys^® integrated substance dependence solution to its commercial and Medicare populations. Coventry Health Care serves over 5 million members, and is one of the countrya™s largest health care companies providing a full range of risk and fee based health care products and services in all 50 states. Operational implementation has begun, and the program is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011.

"We are pleased to be working with Coventry Health Care of Kansas"

Eligible commercial and Medicare members of Coventry Health Care of Kansas affected by substance dependence will be covered under the Catasys program, which includes over a 52 week period medical and psychosocial interventions, as well as a care coaching component. Coventry Health Care of Kansas will pay Hythiam monthly fees for members enrolled into the Catasys program. The Company will enroll eligible members directly and also in conjunction with health plan programs and staff.

aWe are pleased to be working with Coventry Health Care of Kansas,a said Rick Anderson, Hythiama™s President and COO, aand we look forward to providing the Catasys program for Coventrya™s substance dependent members. We appreciate Coventrya™s focus on innovation and in particular, their recognition of the need to address the high medical costs incurred by substance dependence members in their population with a new approach like Catasys. We hope to expand Catasys among other Coventry plans, and believe that this agreement will help drive broader adoption of Catasys by serving as an impetus for other health plans seeking new solutions for reducing costs through better clinical outcomes.a

About Hythiam^®

Hythiam, Inc. provides, through Catasys, specialized behavioral health management services to health plans, employers and unions through a network of licensed and company managed health care providers. The Catasys substance dependence program was designed to address substance dependence as a chronic disease. The program seeks to lower costs and improve member health through the delivery of integrated medical and psychosocial interventions in combination with long term care coaching, including their proprietary treatment program for alcoholism and stimulant dependence. Hythiam does not practice medicine or manufacture, distribute, or sell any medications and has no relationship with any manufacturers or distributors of medications used in the program. For further information, please visit [ www.hythiam.com ].

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for statements of historical fact, the matters discussed in this press release are forward looking and made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control that may cause actual results to differ materially from stated expectations. These risk factors include, among others, limited operating history and lack of outcomes and statistically significant formal research studies, the ability to timely implement and launch our programs, difficulty enrolling members in our programs, the risk that treatment programs might not be effective, difficulty in developing, exploiting and protecting proprietary technologies, adoption by payors of our programs and solutions, intense competition and substantial regulation in the health care industry; and additional risks factors as discussed in the reports filed by the company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on its website at [ http://www.sec.gov ].