BLIS Reaches Agreement with Ironshore

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec. 13, 2010 - PORTLAND, Oregon - BLIS™, a leader in specialized financial services for elective (cash pay) surgery, today announced reaching agreement with Ironshore, a global specialty insurance company, to expand the distribution of its BLISCare product throughout the United States.

BLISCare is the first and only insurance product which provides insurance coverage to bariatric surgeons covering the cost of complication-related medical care. The BLIS surgeon is able to make a commitment to his/her cash pay (or self pay) patient that, should they suffer a surgical complication, the patient will have access to additional medical care needed to treat the complication at no additional cost to the patient. Prior to BLIS, the cash pay patient was entirely at risk for all complication-related medical care which could mean additional medical bills running well into the six figure range. This ability to offer patients a safety net of protection is unique to the BLIS surgeon and is an important element in the ability of the surgeon to grow the cash pay portion of his/her practice.

BLIS was founded in 2005 with a mission of helping to increase access to surgery for the growing number of Americans struggling from the effects of morbid obesity. According to the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (www.asmbs.org), about 220,000 people with morbid obesity in the U.S. had bariatric surgery in 2009. About 15 million people in the U.S. have morbid obesity; 1% of the clinically eligible population is being treated for morbid obesity through bariatric surgery.

Since its first bariatric surgical case in December of 2006, BLIS has provided protection on 3,200 cases and has paid on behalf of 200 BLIS surgeons over $8,000,000 in medical bills that would otherwise have been the responsibility of the individual patient.

“This agreement will allow BLIS to continue to grow and support bariatric surgeons with the financial protection they need in order to protect those who need it most – the cash paying patient risking it all to gain access to life saving bariatric surgery” said Regi Schindler, President and CEO of BLIS, Inc. “Our mission is to improve access to surgery. The financial strength and security of Ironshore will allow BLIS to deliver its proven solution across the entire bariatric market thus ensuring patients throughout the US will have the access they need.”

"Our relationship with BLIS is yet another example of Ironshore's interest in developing innovative insurance programs to meet the specific needs of target business classes," said Matt Dolan, President of IronHealth, the specialty healthcare unit of Ironshore. " IronHealth's expertise in professional medical liability coverages will broaden the ability of BLIS to offer financial protection to surgeons within a unique medical sector."

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About BLIS™
BLIS is a privately held company headquartered in Portland, Oregon with an insurance services office in Bloomington, MN. BLIS provides insurance, patient financing and professional services through a network of related business entities and industry partners. For more information visit: www.bliscompany.com.