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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Hearx(EAR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CONANN who wrote (258)	6/30/1998 11:43:00 AM
From: CONANN	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 383

Major Press Release today on Hearx LTd. This is a significant release: HEARx, And Kaiser Permanente's Association of Medical Groups To Form Hearing Services Venture WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.--(BW HealthWire)--June 30, 1998-- HEARx, Ltd. (AMEX:EAR), announced today that it has signed an Agreement in Principle to form a nationwide joint venture in hearing care with The Permanente Federation, the national association of Permanente Medical Groups. Initially, the joint venture will concentrate on providing hearing aids and diagnostic audiology testing in the State of California. The joint venture will be established to first serve the needs of Kaiser Permanente's membership. The joint venture will also provide services to members of other managed care organizations and the "self-pay" patients in the same geographic region. The partners intend to dramatically raise the level of quality in hearing services in addition to offering greater access to hearing aids through competitive prices. Francis J. Crosson, MD, Executive Director of the Federation, stated, "Hearing loss is a medically under served condition with only 1 in 4 patients receiving treatment. This venture will help address this problem and improve the quality of life of hearing loss patients among both Kaiser Permanente members and non-members." Paul A. Brown, M.D. Chairman of the Board, stated, "Based on patient demography, residents of the State of the California annually spend in excess of $300 million on hearing care. We are excited about the prospects of entering this market with the Federation." The joint venture will be owned 50/50 by HEARx and The Permanente Federation. The Centers will bear the HEARx name. HEARx will be responsible for day-to-day operations management of centers, but all clinical and quality issues will be overseen by a joint operating committee of Federation and HEARx clinicians. Implementation of the venture is subject to completion of final contracts, approval by the governing bodies of each organization and approval from the appropriate regulatory bodies. Cal James, President and CEO of The Permanente Company, the organization responsible for managing business transactions of The Permanente Federation stated, "We are enthusiastic about participation in this joint venture with HEARx." James continued "Once we made the decision to expand existing operations in the field of hearing impairment, we evaluated the possibility of accomplishing this by building, buying or finding an appropriate partner. Our due diligence of HEARx indicated a dedication to providing patients with the highest quality of hearing care and an unparalleled level of sophistication in the area of medical information technology. HEARx was determined to be the ideal expansion partner for our organization. If the parties agree to move forward, plans call for the first cluster of approximately 15 centers to open prior to the end of this year. Each center would have adequate testing rooms and diagnostic equipment to service approximately $3 million in sales per annum. Kaiser Permanente is America's largest not-for-profit health maintenance organization, serving over 9.1 million members in 19 states and the District of Columbia. As an integrated health delivery system, Kaiser Permanente organizes and provides or coordinates members' care, including preventive services such as well-baby and pre-natal care, immunizations, and screening diagnostics; hospital and medical services; and pharmacy services. Kaiser Permanente's delivery system is comprised of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and the Permanente Medical Groups. The Permanente Federation is a national association of The Permanente Medical Groups and is responsible for practice expansion and improvement, care management initiatives, development of medical technologies and new venture development. The Permanente Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Permanente Federation and is the business engine for Federation initiatives, and the implementation vehicle for Permanente Practice Principles. HEARx, with the largest network of audio-vestibular rehabilitative centers in the $2 billion field of hearing services, operates 75 company-owned centers in Connecticut, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The company provides hearing care to patients whose health insurance and managed care organizations have contracted with HEARx, and to an increasing extent to the "self-pay" patients who are unaffiliated with those organizations. Certain of the statements made in this press release contain forward-looking information. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include the ability of the company to conclude the definitive agreements with The Permanente Federation which are consistent with the terms and conditions of the Agreement in Principle and other risks associated with the company's business described company's Form 10K for fiscal year ended December 26, 1997 and Form S-3 resale registration statement dated June 25, 1997. CONTACT: HEARx Ltd. Paul A. Brown, M.D., 561/478-8770, ext. 123 or The Permanente Company Beverly Hayon 510/271-6437