FleishmanHillard, which withstood strict scrutiny from the Associated Press this year over its multimillion-dollar PR work with Illinois' health insurance exchange, has received a nine-month, $25.6M extension.
Get Covered Illinois, under the purview of Gov. Pat Quinn, signed up FH for a new pact that breaks down into $12.5M for media buys, $4.7M for direct costs, and $8.3M for hourly fees.
The Associated Press in June questioned FH's hourly billing rates for the work – dozens of staffers billed at a $270/hour rate – noting the figures were well above other states' PR rates. The AP said the new contract has tighter controls over who gets the top rate, adding that only five people are authorized for the $270/hour rate, compared with 24 in the previous contract.
FH's new pact runs through April 2015. The firm's Chicago office picked up the business in 2013 in a 12-agency pitch process. " We are committed to working with the State of Illinois to enroll as many uninsured residents as possible in quality health coverage," the firm said. "Building on the team's experience and successes from year one, we will extend the reach of our statewide, multicultural public education campaign."
Lo Isidro, senior director at Real Chemistry with more than a decade of strategic communications and PA experience, has joined Narrative Strategies.
Nelson Fernandez, former North American chair of APCO Worldwide and managing director of Burson-Marsteller, has joined Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires as director of communications and PA.
Lilit Bargar, who was most recently an EVP in the healthcare practice at Weber Shandwick, comes on board at GCI Health as EVP, corporate practice lead.
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