Newly merged health system using Premier technology, consulting
and supply chain services to support integration efforts and drive
operational excellence

CHARLOTTE, N.C.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading healthcare improvement company,
has expanded its partnership with Ballad Health, an integrated health
system that serves 29 counties across four Southeastern states. Ballad
Health will implement Premier’s performance improvement infrastructure
and leverage strategic supply chain services to drive high-value care
across its enterprise.

Formed in 2018 by the merger of two regional health systems, Ballad
Health includes 21 hospitals across Northeast Tennessee and Southwest
Virginia. Before the merger, one of the health systems (formerly
Mountain States Health Alliance) worked with Premier for more than two
decades. With a new goal to transform health beyond the community and
across its region, all Ballad Health facilities are expected to leverage
Premier’s group purchasing organization, as well as a variety of cost,
quality, reporting and workforce analytics, solutions, and services.
Ballad Health has also joined Premier’s SURPASS
highly committed purchasing program to drive compliance and scale for
the purchasing of clinically efficacious products.

“Every day we’re adding to our story on our journey toward a stronger
future,” said Alan Levine, Executive Chairman and CEO at Ballad Health.
“It’s a story that Premier has been part of for quite some time and one
that is built on trust. We are excited about this strategic partnership
because it gives Ballad Health a single source of truth through business
intelligence that enables greater connectivity across our network.
Additionally, as a core member of SURPASS, we will work with an engaged
group of health systems that understand the need to optimize the supply
chain while delivering more value to patients. We believe Premier’s
experts and solutions are unmatched and rely on evidence-based insights
to align operations, promote continuous improvement and rationally
deploy resources.”

Specifically, Ballad Health will leverage the PremierConnect^®
performance improvement platform to integrate and align its people,
processes and technologies. This includes Premier’s enterprise-wide
operational, clinical, service line and supply chain analytics. Through
SURPASS, Ballad Health will also contribute to an evidence-based, supply
chain decision-making strategy by actively participating in negotiations
and clinically vetting products and supplies. Ballad Health will also
use Premier’s purchased services program to create system-wide
standardization and reduce total costs. As part of the partnership,
Premier’s industry-leading
consultants and technology-enabled insights will support Ballad
Health in achieving overall financial, operational and clinical success.

“Managing and improving margins is a strategic imperative as the
industry transitions to value-based care and payment models,” said Susan
DeVore, CEO at Premier. “Key health system decision makers need holistic
and trusted data, insights and expertise in order to flourish in the
future. We look forward to working with Ballad Health to optimize
efficiencies, influence high-quality clinical care and materially impact
total care delivery costs across its system.”

The financial impact of the agreement was not disclosed.

Forward-looking statements

Matters discussed in this release that are not statements of historical
or current facts, such as Ballad Health’s anticipated use of Premier’s
supply chain and performance services at expected levels, as discussed
herein, are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements
of Premier to be materially different from historical results or from
any future results or projections expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue
reliance on any forward looking statements. In addition to statements
that explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged
to consider statements in the conditional or future tenses or that
include terms such as “believes,” “belief,” “expects,” “estimates,”
“intends,” “anticipates” or “plans” to be uncertain and forward-looking.
Forward-looking statements may include comments as to Premier’s beliefs
and expectations as to future events and trends affecting its business
and are necessarily subject to uncertainties, many of which are outside
Premier’s control. More information on potential factors that could
affect Premier’s financial results is included from time to time in the
“Forward Looking Statements,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations” sections of Premier’s periodic and current filings with the
SEC and available on Premier’s website at investors.premierinc.com.
Forward looking statements speak only as of the date they are made.
Premier undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise that occur after that date.

About Ballad Health

Ballad Health is an integrated healthcare system serving 29 counties of
Northeast Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Northwest North Carolina and
Southeast Kentucky. Ballad Health operates a family of 21 hospitals,
including three tertiary medical centers, a dedicated children’s
hospital, community hospitals, three critical access hospitals, a
behavioral health hospital, an addiction treatment facility, long-term
care facilities, home care and hospice services, retail pharmacies,
outpatient services and a comprehensive medical management corporation. https://www.balladhealth.org/.

About Premier Inc.

Premier Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company,
uniting an alliance of more than 4,000 U.S. hospitals and health systems
and approximately 165,000 other providers and organizations to transform
healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply
chain solutions, and consulting and other services, Premier enables
better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier 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.

Contacts

Morgan Guthrie, Premier Inc.; [email protected];
704.816.4152