Employers’ Coalition and Destiny Health Plan Create Partnership in Northern Ill.

Chicago-based Destiny Health and the Rockford, Ill.-based Employers’ Coalition on Health (ECOH) recently announced a partnership that offers small businesses in northern Illinois a unique option in health care insurance.

According to the written statement issued by the companies, the agreement blends the cost advantages and care quality of ECOH’s established network of health care providers with the innovative design of The Destiny Health Plan, which is underwritten by the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. This agreement makes it possible for small businesses to take advantage of a premier, consumer-directed health care model, with the same advantages and significant discounts as large corporations.

The written statement said that the new network option will be offered to some 3,000 existing Rockford-area members of Guardian’s Destiny Health Plan, bringing access to a broader scope of care and serving new employer customers at that same high level.

Sam Schmitz, executive director of ECOH, said, “The partnership between ECOH and Guardian’s Destiny Health Plan is a prime example of a win-win-win for local health care.”

Some of the advantages Schmitz highlighted were that small businesses can now access the significant ECOH discounts that
larger companies have been offered for years and that their employees can now access all three Rockford-area hospitals as well as additional health care providers.

Scott Spiker, CEO of Destiny Health agreed, adding, “ECOH has the best provider network in the market it serves, and I obviously believe we have the best health plan. Our organizations not only complement each other in what we can offer employers, we have a real alignment of vision and values.”

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and Destiny Health joined forces in 2003. As the nation’s fourth-largest mutual life insurer, Guardian is the employee benefits carrier for more than 120,000 companies and 6 million individuals across the country.

The Destiny Health Plan is underwritten and marketed by Guardian in Illinois, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland and Texas. The Destiny Health Plan is also available in Wisconsin through affiliated insurance brokers. For more information on the alliance, visit http://www.glic-destiny.com/ .
Headquartered in Rockford, Ill., the Employers’ Coalition On Health (ECOH) is a non-profit coalition of local employers who collaborate with providers to progressively reform the health care delivery system in northern Illinois.

Source: Destiny Health