ORLANDO | Rosen Hotels & Resorts has just been named one of only nine companies nationwide to receive the prestigious 2008 Apex Award from hub magazine, the official publication of UnitedHealth Group, for its innovative and forward-thinking in-house medical care and insurance program.

Since 1991, Rosen Hotels & Resorts in Orlando has offered a unique healthcare insurance system that provides employees and their families with personalized care with a focus on preventing illness, low premiums, minimal co-payments for office visits, free or low co-pay prescriptions and readily available appointments.

This revolutionary program was the vision of Harris Rosen, President/COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, who saw early on that self-insuring his employees would not only cut his company's costs on healthcare, but would also provide his then 1,500 associates - now 5,000 associates at seven hotels - with superior service and care.

Companies representing more than 1.4 million employees were considered for the Apex award, yet Rosen Hotels & Resorts emerged as one of the nation's leaders.

"It's an honor to be recognized by hub magazine and UnitedHealth Group, and we're proud to share spotlight of recognition with some of the country's most respected companies and leaders in employee wellness - corporate giants such as IBM, Best Buy and WaMu," said Harris Rosen, President/COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts. "It's my sincere hope that other companies will step forward and revolutionize their employee healthcare systems as well. This is something that every company could and should be doing to manage costs and provide accessible, affordable care for their employees."

Rosen Hotels & Resorts was one of two winners in the category of accessibility, which was one of five areas - affordability, quality, simplification and collaboration - identified by UnitedHealth Group as crucial in the movement to improve healthcare. According to Apex Award judges, the hotel chain was chosen as a leader in accessibility for several reasons.

Rosen's program focuses on preventative care including annual physicals, well-baby care, weight management and smoking cessation, and also provides dental, mental and pharmacy benefits. The medical center employs two full-time primary care physicians, two nurse practitioners, a full-time social worker, a part-time podiatrist and a part-time dietician. The state-of-the-art, 4,000-square-foot clinic also boasts onsite services including lab, X-ray, electrocardiograms (EKGs), disease management and workers compensation. Because the doctors see about 21 patients a day, far fewer than the national average, the doctors get to know the employees by name. Unlike many practices in which patients must make an appointment several days in advance, Rosen associates with emergency needs are seen the same day so they can recover more quickly. Additionally, a team of registered nurses is on call around the clock, 365 days a year to address urgent health care concerns. Primary care visits cost only a $5 co-payment while pediatric care, smoking cessation and diagnostic testing are complimentary. And, an agreement with Florida Hospital provides affordable access to specialists for a low $15 co-pay. The 50 most common prescription medications are free and other drugs are available with low co-pays.

Judges also found it compelling that the Rosen Medical Center offers foreign language translators so that its doctors, nurses and staff can clearly communicate with Rosen associates, 40 percent of whom are French Creole and 30 percent of whom speak Spanish. Finally, the Rosen Medical Center is located less than 10 minutes from each of the seven Rosen hotels and associates without transportation can use the hotel's taxi system at no cost to get to their appointments. Associates do not have to clock out to visit the clinic, so they don't have to take a pay cut to receive the care they need.

The annual cost of the program is roughly the same as what Rosen was paying in 1990 for lower levels of coverage and about one-third of the number of employees. The savings to Rosen Hotels & Resorts during the past 17 years has been significant. By implementing the plan, Rosen has reduced his healthcare cost per covered life to approximately $2,200 and has maintained that cost for the past five years. Employers with similar demographics pay twice this much and their costs, instead of remaining flat like Rosen's, almost double every 5-8 years. Rosen Hotels & Resorts saves approximately $10 million a year on healthcare since initiating this new program.

Additionally, Rosen's workers compensation costs are about half the industry average. Employee turnover is in the teens, compared to a 100 percent or more annual turnover rate, which is common in the hotel business. These cost-savings are astounding, considering the diversity of Rosen employees and the large number of hourly employees who have emigrated from other countries, many of whom have never received regular healthcare, and some of whom have never before seen a doctor. Among foreign workers, health problems like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes are especially prevalent, so disease management is crucial to associate well-being.

As many Florida companies continue to drop health insurance for employees due to rising costs, Rosen's model provides a financially sound and equitable option. The COO's experience in self-insuring his company led to the development of ProvInsure, an independent insurance agency that assists other companies and individuals with insurance plans.