Health Care Management Administrators, Third Party, Medical Claims, Employee Benefit At Group and Pensions Administrators

GPA Promotes Early Detection Lymphedema Screening

Advancing women's health remains core focus for third party administrator

October 19, 2011 (Dallas, TX) Group & Pension Administrators, Inc., (GPA) one of the largest third-party benefit administrators in the Southwestern United States and an active promoter of women's health, today announced that it strongly endorses Lymphedema screening in pre- and post-surgical breast cancer patients.

When breast cancer is diagnosed, treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery. While these treatments have proved to increase the breast cancer cure rate, one potential side effect is Lymphedema, a debilitating chronic disorder causing limb swelling and inflammation.

"For years, GPA has encouraged its clients to offer mammography screening, an instrumental measure in early detection of breast cancer," began Barbara Derlein, Director of HealthWatch, GPA. "Based on recent research, we now recommend Lymphedema screening to help prevent an unnecessary chronic complication of breast cancer treatment, and offer this benefit to our employees."

Derlein added, "Typically, our health plan groups cover mammography screening at age 40 or 45, depending on plan design. When a group elects GPA wellness services, we provide health education and active promotion of breast cancer and Lymphedema screenings."

In a recent position paper, the National Lymphedema Network (NLN) recommended all breast cancer patients receive pre- and post-treatment measurements on both arms, and consistent measurements throughout their treatment, and that practitioners use bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) or infared perometry as opposed to a tape measure. These precautions have proved to reduce the occurrence of Lymphedema.

GPA's own health plan offers its employees coverage for this testing procedure with the use of the spectroscopy with the Lymphedema index (L-Dex) measurement system and has partnered with L-Dex to offer this new paradigm of Lymphedema management.

"As a wellness and prevention champion, GPA strongly promotes health plan coverage for oncologists to clinically assess the early stages of Lymphedema because it is the right thing to do for the patient and plan," said Kathy Enochs, COO for GPA. "GPA has long been an advocate in advancing women's health, and we continue to stay on top of leading healthcare research and trends to ensure our groups and members stay as healthy as possible."

"Before the early identification of Lymphedema using bioimpedience spectroscopy, the method of measurement available to physicians was not sophisticated enough to detect the minute changes in extracellular fluid that occur before clinically noticeable," said Dr. Alison Laidley, Texas Breast Specialists, Texas Oncology. "Early identification and treatment of pre-clinical Lymphedema is so important to preventing a life-long complication that can so easily be prevented when diagnosed early. In the future this test may also help to identify the earliest signs of Lymphedema in patients with other types of cancer."

Lymphedema effects up to one-third of the 180,000 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients annually and 2.3 million breast cancer survivors in the United States according to The Avon Foundation for Women white paper of April 2011.

About Group & Pension Administrators, Inc.
Group & Pension Administrators, Inc. (GPA) is the largest independently owned third-party administrator (TPA) in the Southwest, providing highest-quality and custom healthcare benefit management solutions to discerning self-insured employers. For over 40 years, GPA has combined its value of service excellence with a commitment to customers, employing industry-leading technology, tools and – above all – "high-touch" patient care to deliver the healthiest employees and the "healthiest" bottom line. In fact, GPA's customized wellness solution, BeWell^SM, earned a Gold Award and was recognized nationally by the Wellness Council of America for producing outstanding results. Featured customers benefiting from GPA health initiatives: The Container Store, named to FORTUNE magazine's list of "100 Best Companies to Work For," and the City of McKinney, selected as one of the Healthiest Cities in North Texas by Live Healthy America. GPA, along with several of its clients, was also named to Dallas Morning News' Top 100 Places to Work in 2010. For more information, visit gpatpa.com.

Contact Information:

Kathy Enochs
GPA
972.744.2445

Regional Office - San Antonio, TX
5803 Sebastian Place, San Antonio, TX 78249
210.691.0500 phone • 800.594.3973 toll-free

Group & Pension Administrators, Inc.
Park Central 8, 12770 Merit Drive, 2nd Floor, Dallas, TX 75251
972.238.7900 phone • 800.827.7223 toll-free

Regional Office - Houston, TX
10101 Southwest Fwy, Suite 210, Houston, TX 77074
713.355.1225 phone • 877.850.3373 toll-free

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