HealthcareOne LLC has established its global corporate headquarters complex, including a customer service center, in Tempe, Ariz., in the Phoenix metro, to service its growing health care discount program.
The Tempe facility began operations with 15 customer service specialists, and it is quickly expected to grow to 90 employees, according to the company.
The company will be investing about $5 million during the first year of operations.
HealthcareOne is a direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business marketer of discount programs, which address the growing cost of health care and offer affordable alternatives to those without health and dental insurance.
Tempe was selected as the location because of its strong labor pool, attractive property costs for a headquarters facility, and proximity to major markets in the Southwest and West Coast, said Michael Jay Ellman, president of HealthcareOne.
“Having personally been in the direct marketing business for [more than] 25 years, Tempe provides our organization with the necessary components to grow our rapidly expanding business,” he said.
Tempe has a track record of providing a quality back office work force, which facilitates long-term growth and career opportunities for people in the health care industry, said Sheri Wakefield-Saenz, economic director for the city.
The state of Arizona offers expanding companies a pro-business environment, attractive operating costs, a modern infrastructure, a skilled work force and strong educational systems, said Gilbert Jimenz, director of the Arizona Department of Commerce.
The Southern Arizona region is attempting to strengthen its life sciences and bioscience clusters. The University of Arizona plays a major role in that effort.
Genomics USA, an Illinois-based company, recently located its research and development headquarters in Tucson. The company develops microarray chips for population-scale genetic analysis. It will be located on the campus of the University of Arizona.
The technology that Genomics USA has invented is centered on a platform that dramatically reduces manufacturing costs, allowing microarray products to be used as part of a simple and inexpensive genetic test.
Genomics USA’s microarray technology will deliver the power of multiple–gene analysis at a cost and quality high enough to become the basis for routine population-scale diagnostic testing, according to the company.
Michael Hogan, chief scientific officer of Genomics USA, cited the proximity to the biochemical and biotech research resources at the University of Arizona, the energetic local commercial biotechnology community, and access to top local research collaborators as the driving force behind the decision to put the complex in Tucson.
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