Avalon members to benefit from contract signed between Avalon Healthcare and Physicians Regional Healthcare System

Avalon Healthcare, Florida’s fast growing statewide individual and group health insurance plan, has signed a provider agreement with the Collier County based Physicians Regional Healthcare System, announced Charles T. O’Neill Avalon’s Chief Executive Officer. The agreement became effective August 1, 2009. The Physicians Regional Healthcare System is comprised of two campuses, the Physicians Regional Medical Center - Pine Ridge and Physicians Regional Medical Center - Collier Boulevard. The system has a combined 201 acute care beds in Collier County.

“Avalon Members in Collier County benefit from direct hospital contracts because competitive reimbursements provide lower costs especially in a world of consumer directed health care,” O’Neill stated. “As a Florida only health plan, the new contracts help Avalon keep premiums competitive with larger, less personalized national insurers and offer us a wider footprint in southwest Florida.”

“The addition of the Physicians Regional Healthcare System brings us even closer to completing our hospital network on the west coast of Florida,” added O’Neill. “We’re now working to contract with additional hospitals and some smaller facilities after which our efforts on this side of the state should be completed.”

Over the past two years, Avalon Healthcare has signed direct hospital contracts with the BayCare Health System in Tampa (nine hospitals), Lee Memorial Hospital System (four hospitals), Sarasota Memorial Health System, Manatee Memorial and Lakewood Ranch Hospitals, Naples Community Hospitals, Winter Haven Hospital, IASIS Hospital System in Tampa (four hospitals), the University Hospital System in Tampa (three hospitals), Tenet Hospitals located in South Florida, (12 hospitals), Mount Sinai Hospital in Miami, Tampa General in Tampa, All Children’s Hospital and Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, North Broward Hospital System (four hospitals), Lake Wales Regional and Bartow Regional Hospital.