[February 11, 2016]

Premier, Inc. to Support CORMAC Corporation on CMS Contract to Improve Care for Cancer Patients

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading healthcare improvement company, has been awarded a contract to support the CORMAC Corporation in its work with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on a new payment and care delivery model to improve care provided to cancer patients. As a subcontractor to the CORMAC team, Premier will leverage its CECity capabilities to support CMS's Oncology Care Model.

With more than 1.6 million people diagnosed each year, cancer is one of the most common, devastating and costly diseases in the United States. For example, cancer was responsible for an estimated $263.8 billion in medical costs and lost productivity in 2010. In addition, a majority of cancer patients are over 65 years old and Medicare beneficiaries.

The Oncology Care Model is one of CMS's many innovative payment and care delivery models. Beginning in spring 2016, this five-year model will invest in physician-led practices, allowing the practices to innovate and deliver higher-quality care to their patients. Other payers are participating in the model to leverage the opportunity to transform care for oncology patients across a broader population. The Oncology Care Model includes 24-hour access to practitioners for beneficiaries undergoing treatment at participating practices and financially incentivizes those practices for high-quality,coordinated care through episode-based payments, contingent upon quality performance.

As part of the CORMAC team, Premier has been selected to operationalize, oversee and monitor the Oncology Care Model, as well as create a structured approach to collecting information, implementing improvements and complying with federal regulations. The partners will work together to customize, operate and maintain a data registry for the Oncology Care Model, which aims to improve health and lower costs for beneficiaries by promoting practice transformation and appropriate clinical care.

"Care provided to cancer patients is specialized and unique," said Keith J. Figlioli, senior vice president of healthcare informatics, Premier. "Recognizing this, the Oncology Care Model will provide support for providers to address the complex care needs of cancer patients and reward those that focus on modifying their services to deliver better outcomes and care experiences. We are excited to be working with CMS, CORMAC and participating practices to enable innovation through data, measurement and scaling best practices."

Premier's CECity capabilities will be leveraged to create a cloud-based registry that automates the collection of clinical, quality and structural data from model participants to generate the quality measures, performance reports and insights necessary for monitoring, evaluation and continuous learning. Premier will automate the flow of information directly from physician practices to the Oncology Care Model's clinical data registry. The registry will then link gaps in performance to suggested tools, resources and professional education in partnership with national professional societies, to rapidly accelerate the delivery of high-quality, coordinated care and advance evidence-based quality improvement solutions.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

About Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,600 U.S. hospitals and 120,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier's news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and Premier's blog for more information about the company.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160211005737/en/

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