AvMed Health Plans Remains a Market Leader In Florida

AvMed Health Plans was created in 1969 as a prepaid health care system for pilots in Miami’s aviation industry. AvMed became licensed as an HMO in 1973 and earned federal qualification in 1977. There are more than 800 employees in the AvMed family.

Corporate headquarters is located in Miami, with regional offices in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. As a not-for-profit, community-based health plan, AvMed is focused on people—the bottom line is the health of members. Profits go right back into the health plans – expanding an already robust network, making sure its personalized service is top-notch, and improving quality and benefits.

AvMed offers a variety of HMO and Point of Service products to large and small employer groups throughout Florida. In South Florida, AvMed provides coverage to individuals and families as well as Medicare Advantage to seniors. ASO programs are designed to maximize net savings for the self-funded employer.

AvMed Health Plan’s holding company, SantaFe HealthCare is based in Gainesville, Florida. In addition to AvMed, SantaFe operates Haven Hospice and the SantaFe Senior Living communities in Florida which include North Florida Retirement Village in Gainesville (The Village), Bayview Gardens in Clearwater, East Ridge Retirement Village in Cutler Bay and Terraces at Bonita Springs in Bonita Springs.

AvMed will now be available to state employees in 37 counties. The company currently provides HMO coverage for state workers and retirees in 30 Florida counties, and insures more than a quarter million Floridians through its contracts with large and small employers, government agencies and individuals.

The state decided this year to offer employee health benefits on a self-funded basis in an attempt to hold down the cost of providing a comprehensive plan for its employees and retirees. The state has projected that the new contracts for 2012 is expected to reduce state costs by about $400 million over the next two years.

AvMed is currently the largest HMO provider for state employees. These members get easy access to preventive care and specialists when they need it. Members with chronic conditions or complex medical issues get special assistance to manage their health and control costs.

AvMed was awarded state contracts for the counties across all of the state’s big urban areas — including Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Duval, Orange, Polk and Volusia counties. In addition, state employees and retirees will be able to choose AvMed as their HMO provider in Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hardee, Hernando, Highlands, Indian River, Lake, Levy, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Nassau, Osceola, Pasco, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Seminole, Sumter, Suwannee, and Union counties.

AvMed recently announced that it has contracted with Medco Health Solutions to administer the pharmacy portion of their AvMed Medicare Advantage Program (MA-PD). In an effort to continue to improve its quality service and reduce costs to its members and clients, AvMed signed on with Medco to help manage the Medicare pharmacy experience.