Youngstown Business Incubator Announces Program Partnership With Nationally Ranked gener8tor

Youngstown, OH — The Youngstown Business Incubator (YBI) announced a partnership today with gener8tor, a nationally ranked accelerator that invests in high-growth startups. The partnership will bring gener8tor’s gBETA and gALPHA Programs to Youngstown, with a primary focus on the Additive Manufacturing industry.

gener8tor YBI Partnership Release

Allianz Life and Securian Financial team up with gener8tor to invest in, accelerate insurance innovation

New “OnRamp Insurance Accelerator” invests in tech startups, and annual “OnRamp Insurance Conference” coming to Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, Minn.–To invest in the next generation of insurance technology and innovation, Allianz Life Ventures, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, and Securian Financial have joined forces with nationally ranked startup accelerator, gener8tor, to establish the OnRamp Insurance Accelerator.
Each year, five startups will be accepted into the three-month, concierge accelerator program in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Each will receive a cash investment of $100,000, office space and access to gener8tor’s global network of mentors and investors. Applications are now open for the first OnRamp Insurance Accelerator cohort. Startups may apply at onrampinsuranceaccelerator.com/apply.
“We are very excited to bring some of the brightest minds in insurtech to the Twin Cities through this new collaboration,” said Chris Hilger, Securian Financial’s chairman, president and CEO. “We are in the midst of a complete digital and technical transformation at Securian Financial, and our investment in the accelerator will give us further opportunities to collaborate with and learn from entrepreneurs developing the next generation of technology that will reshape our industry. We also feel that this is a great economic development opportunity for the Twin Cities, as startups from all over the country will get to see first-hand why the Twin Cities is such a wonderful place to live and build a business.”
“We are pleased to partner with gener8tor to support the insurance tech startups that are developing the tools and technology for tomorrow’s insurance industry,” said Walter White, president and chief executive officer of Allianz Life. “We have a common vision of the potential of new technologies, and a commitment to finding new, innovative and efficient ways to serve our contract and policyholders both today and for years to come.”
The creation of the OnRamp Insurance Accelerator builds off the success of the industry-leading OnRamp Insurance Conference. As part of the new Allianz Life Ventures, Securian Financial and gener8tor relationship, the annual OnRamp Insurance Conference will be held in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The 2019 OnRamp Insurance Conference will take place on April 11, 2019 at Target Center.
Started by gener8tor in 2016, the OnRamp Insurance Conference brings together the insurance industry’s leading corporations, investors and startups. The event specifically focuses on connecting insurance startups and investors with insurance executives in corporate venture capital, innovation, M&A and strategy. The conference highlights innovations disrupting the insurance industry, the leaders making such innovations possible and how new technologies and business models will reinvent the industry. The one-day event, which always takes place in a sports stadium, includes a full day of programming.
“The OnRamp Insurance Conference will bring thousands of insurance executives, investors and startups to the Twin Cities. To build off of those relationships, we are thrilled to team up with two of the best carriers in the business to invest in the best insurtech startups via the OnRamp
Insurance Accelerator,” said Troy Vosseller, co-founder of gener8tor.
About Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America
Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, one of FORTUNE’s 100 Best Companies to Work For® in 2018, has been keeping its promises since 1896. Today, it carries on that tradition, helping Americans achieve their retirement income and protection goals with a variety of annuities and life insurance products. In 2017, Allianz Life provided a total of $2.7 billion in benefit payments that supported policyholders’ financial objectives. As a leading provider of fixed index annuities, Allianz Life is part of Allianz SE, a global leader in the financial services industry with 142,000 employees in more than 70 countries worldwide. More than 85 million private and corporate customers rely on Allianz knowledge, global reach, and capital strength to help them make the most of financial opportunities.
About Allianz Life Ventures
Allianz Life Ventures, part of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America (Allianz Life), makes investments in North American companies with potential market traction and a demonstrated ability to drive innovation. Allianz Life Ventures is uniquely positioned to leverage the financial strength and in-house expertise of Allianz Life to help our partners succeed. Active in all investment stages from seed and early stage to growth, current partners include: Core Innovation Capital, blooom, tomorrow, LifeYield, Gainfully, Vestwell, Ladder, and Covr.
About Securian Financial
At Securian Financial, we’re here for family. And we’re here because of it. We’re guided by our purpose: helping customers build secure tomorrows. Since 1880, we’ve been building a uniquely diversified company that has outlasted economic ups and downs while staying true to our customers. We’re committed to the markets we serve, providing insurance, investment and retirement solutions that give families the confidence to focus on what’s truly valuable: banking memories with those who matter most.
About OnRamp Insurance Accelerator
Each year, the OnRamp Insurance Accelerator, with Allianz Life and Securian Financial, invests in five insurtech startups who participate in a three-month, concierge accelerator program in Minneapolis-St. Paul. Each startup receives a cash investment of $100,000, office space and access to gener8tor’s global network of mentors and investors.
About OnRamp Insurance Conference
The OnRamp Insurance Conference brings together the insurance industry’s leading corporations, investors and startups. The event specifically focuses on connecting insurance startups and investors with insurance executives in corporate venture capital, innovation, M&A and strategy. The conference highlights innovations disrupting the insurance industry, the leaders making such innovations possible and how new technologies and business models will reinvent the industry.
About gener8tor
gener8tor is a turnkey platform for the creative economy that connects startups, entrepreneurs, artists, investors, universities and corporations. The gener8tor platform includes pre-accelerators, accelerators, corporate programming, conferences and fellowships focused on entrepreneurs, artists and musicians. gener8tor is a nationally ranked, GOLD-tier accelerator in the U.S. as ranked by the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project.
# # #
Securian Financial is the marketing name for Securian Financial Group, Inc., and its affiliates. Insurance products are issued by its affiliated insurance companies, including Minnesota Life Insurance Company and Securian Life Insurance Company, a New York authorized insurer. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Securian Financial Services, Inc., registered investment advisor, member FINRA/SIPC.
Contacts:
Securian Financial
Jeff Bakken, Media Relations
651-665-7558 jeff.bakken@securian.com
Allianz Life
Brett Weinberg, Media Relations
763-765-7160 brett.weinberg@allianzlife.com
gener8tor
Troy Vosseller
608-354-6606 troy@gener8tor.com

Upland Hills Health Join QualityPath for Colonoscopies

Contact:

Tierney Anderson

608.210.6642

E-mail: tanderson@the-alliance.org

www.the-alliance.org/press

Upland Hills HealthJoin QualityPath for Colonoscopies

MADISON, Wis. (Oct. 26, 2018) – Upland Hills Healthhave met the national quality measures and adopted processes that improve care for patients to become QualityPath providers for colonoscopies.  

The Alliance is adding colonoscopies to QualityPath as part of efforts to help employers emphasize the value of colorectal cancer screening for employees and their family members that are covered by a health plan that uses The Alliance network to access health care. The Alliance also provides employers with a white paper on colorectal cancer screening that identifies cost-effective approaches and recommends additional resources.

The Alliance developed QualityPath for colonoscopies with one of eight Purchaser Value Network (PVN) grants made nationwide with funding provided by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation for regional business coalitions implementing innovative practices in value-based purchasing and health care payment reform. PVN is an initiative of the Pacific Business Group on Health, San Francisco, Calif.

Launched in 2015, the QualityPath program currently guides patients to high-quality providers for CT and MRI scans and knee replacement and total hip replacement surgeries.

QualityPath offers these benefits:

• Doctors, hospitals and clinics meet national quality measures and adopt practices that lead to better outcomes.
• A bundled price covers most elements of surgeries and tests. For patients that means low out-of-pocket costs – sometimes nothing!
• A warranty covers complications or repeat tests.
• A patient experience manager guides surgical patients.
• Online tools and information provide additional support
• Shared decision-making reduces unnecessary care.
• A toolkit helps employers tell employees about the advantages.

Employers who are members of The Alliance can enroll in QualityPath, which is then offered to employees and family members enrolled in health plans that use The Alliance network. A list of participating doctors, hospitals and clinics is available on The Alliance website (www.the-alliance.org).

The Alliance is a not-for-profit cooperative that moves health care forward by controlling costs, improving quality and engaging individuals in their health. Members include more than 240 self-funded employers and multiemployer plans in Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

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Alliance President and CEO Cheryl DeMars is available for interviews on request.

WPS will assist TriWest Healthcare Alliance in serving additional regions for VA programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Tom Enwright, (608) 977-7165 thomas.enwright@wpsic.com

WPS will assist TriWest Healthcare Alliance in serving additional regions for VA programs

Additional staff will be hired in Wausau, Wis., and Southern Illinois

MADISON, Wis.—Oct. 9, 2018—WPS Health Solutions is proud to announce that the company is taking on additional work to support two existing programs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

VA asked TriWest Healthcare Alliance – one of two VA contractors administering the Patient-Centered Community Care (PC3) and Veterans Choice Program (VCP) for Veterans – to bridge the gap in services created after Health Net Federal Services stopped administering these programs in its designated regions of the country. Health Net’s contract expired on Sept. 30. In addition, TriWest extended its contract with WPS to provide health care services until the next generation of VA community care is implemented via the Community Care Network (CCN) contracts.

WPS currently supports TriWest Healthcare Alliance in three of the nation’s regions, and this additional work adds the remaining three regions so that WPS will provide claims processing and customer service functions for PC3 and the VCP throughout the entire nation. The WPS Military and Veterans Health team will be hiring additional staff before the end of the year in Wausau, Wis., and Southern Illinois to accommodate the increased workload.

“WPS is proud to be able to continue serving Veterans across the country through these successful programs. Our partnership with TriWest Healthcare Alliance and the performance and hard work of our employees will continue as we expand into these additional regions,” said Brian Brugger, Executive Vice President of WPS Military and Veterans Health. “We look forward to working side by side with TriWest Healthcare Alliance and Veterans Affairs to make sure our nation’s Veterans receive the care they deserve and to continue delivering our already high level of service.”

TriWest Healthcare Alliance and WPS will ensure that Veterans have ready access to community care when needed until the next generation of community care contracts – Community Care Networks (CCN) – are awarded and implemented.

“We stand by VA’s commitment to provide access to community care when it is unable to provide care timely or conveniently, and we are confident in our ability to successfully and seamlessly transition into the new regions,” said David McIntyre, President and CEO of TriWest

Healthcare Alliance. “It has been a privilege to work collaboratively with VA over the past five years to provide Veterans in half the country with access to community-based health care, having now facilitated nearly 10 million appointments for care with our network of over 200,000 community providers, and we are pleased WPS is processing and paying their claims.”

About WPS Health Solutions

WPS Health Solutions is a nationally regarded government contractor and a leading Wisconsin not-for-profit health insurer. The WPS Health Insurance division offers affordable health plans and benefits administration. The WPS Government Health Administrators division administers Part A and B Medicare benefits for millions of seniors in multiple states, and the WPS Military and Veterans Health division serves millions more members who are active in the U.S. military, veterans and their families. In 2018, the international Ethisphere® Institute named WPS one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® for the ninth straight year. For more information, please visit wpshealthsolutions.com.

DeWitt Ross & Stevens is Approved for Membership in SCG Legal Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2018

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:
Michelle M. Friedman
(262) 754-2877
mmf@dewittross.com

DeWitt Ross & Stevens is Approved for Membership in SCG Legal Network

MADISON|BROOKFIELD|MINNEAPOLIS – DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., and its affiliate DeWitt Mackall Crounse & Moore S.C., announced today it has been approved for membership in SCG Legal Network.

Membership is by invitation only and extended to firms after demonstrating the highest quality service, industry leadership and the value their membership would bring to the network. SCG Legal is an association of more than 140 independent law firms serving businesses in all 50 state capitals and major commercial centers around the world. There are more than 6,000 attorneys practicing in U.S. firms that are SCG members. The network was founded by 17 former state governors in 1989 to better serve their clients in sharing information about the practice of law before state legislative, judicial, and executive bodies.

Today, these firms serve many regional, national, and international companies in a full range of legal services. SCG Legal also helps identify local counsel and assists businesses with government relations matters, litigation coordination, and multi-jurisdictional regulatory concerns in the U.S. and around the globe.

“We are proud to be among the select few that belong to SCG Legal and look forward to a long and productive relationship with this elite network,” said Bradley Fulton, President & Managing Partner at DeWitt.

About DeWitt

DeWitt Ross & Stevens S.C., including its affiliate DeWitt Mackall Crounse & Moore S.C., is one of the ten largest law firms based in Wisconsin, with an additional presence in Minnesota. It has nearly 140 attorneys practicing in Madison and Metropolitan Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, in a variety of legal areas and has the experience to service clients of all scopes and sizes. The firm is known for its work in several areas, including civil rights litigation, construction litigation, corporate law, employment, environmental, employee benefits, estate planning, family law, government relations, health care, intellectual property, patents, trademarks and copyright law, litigation, personal injury, real estate, and tax law.