Medicare News
| For Immediate Release: | Contact: |
| Monday, November 22, 1999 | CMS Office of Public Affairs 202-690-6145 |
For questions about Medicare please call 1-800-MEDICARE or visit www.medicare.gov. |
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HMO PLAN OFFERED TO MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES IN EIGHT FLORIDA COUNTIES
The Health Care Financing Administration today approved Well Care HMO Inc. to offer managed care coverage to Medicare beneficiaries in eight Florida counties including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg, Tampa and the Orlando area.
Well Care HMO, based in Tampa, will begin enrollment this month to serve Medicare beneficiaries starting January 1, 2000, in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties. About 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries live in the plan's service area.
HCFA, which administers the Medicare program, today also approved five other plans around the country, bringing the total number of applications approved this year for new or expanded service areas to 32. An additional 10 managed care plans have filed applications seeking to serve beneficiaries in new or expanded service areas.
Managed care and other new health care options, known as Medicare+Choice, are available where private companies choose to offer them. Currently, about 6.5 million Medicare beneficiaries -- out of a total of nearly 40 million aged and disabled Americans -- have enrolled in Medicare HMOs. Original fee-for-service Medicare, currently chosen by more than 33 million beneficiaries, is available to all beneficiaries.
"We are pleased Well Care HMO has decided to serve Medicare beneficiaries in Florida," HCFA Administrator Nancy-Ann DeParle said. "While most beneficiaries are still receiving care through original fee-for-service Medicare, other managed care options are increasingly available and we welcome every opportunity to give seniors and the disabled more health plan choices."
Congress created Medicare+Choice in the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 to expand the types of health care options available to Medicare beneficiaries. As part of Medicare+Choice, Medicare now offers new preventive benefits and patient protections, as well as a far-reaching information program that includes a national toll-free phone number -- 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) -- a new Internet site -- www.medicare.gov -- and a coalition of more than 200 national and local organizations to provide seniors more information.
