ROCKLEDGE, FL (March 27, 2007) -- Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) recently approved Health First Health Plans (HFHP) as the first health maintenance organization (HMO) to offer a fitness center membership as a covered benefit for employees of small businesses. The benefit is part of plans available to Brevard and "small groups" with coverage beginning or renewing on or after April 1, 2007. (A small group is defined as a business with two to 50 employees who work at least 25 hours a week.)

"Two of the main reasons HMOs were created were to promote preventive care and manage costs -- if people are healthier, their medical costs are almost always lower. And since the state has strict requirements about what benefits HMOs can offer, they had never approved any other HMO to offer a fitness center membership as a covered benefit," said Margaret Haney, president of HFHP. "We met with the OIR in Tallahassee and explained how it really does follow the spirit of the laws that govern HMOs, and are thrilled they agreed to approve this," she added.

"The way this new benefit works is each covered employee can receive a membership at Pro-Health & Fitness Center at no additional cost, and their spouse and children can join at a discounted rate. The whole idea of teaming up with Pro-Health fits perfectly with the overall mission of Health First -- which is to improve the health of our community. And including memberships as part of our health plans is a big step toward achieving that mission," said Angela Handa, vice president of Sales and Service for HFHP.

Handa added, "To make sure everything goes smoothly, we're only offering the fitness center membership to small groups right now, but hope to add it to coverage for larger companies next year."

"Study after study shows a benefit like this is good for everyone -- as employees' health and fitness improve over time, the employees, their employers, and the health plan all begin to see lower costs premiums and healthcare services," said Joseph Collins, MD, vice president-medical director for HFHP. "Plus, employees appreciate working for a company that values their health and well-being, so businesses see greater loyalty and productivity, less turnover, and fewer sick days," he added.

Centrally located in the Suntree area, HFHP currently has 65,500 members -- nearly one out of every seven residents in Brevard -- including 22,100 Medicare members, 33,000 commercial group members. HFHP also provides administrative services for 10,500 members of self-funded plans.

Serving residents of Brevard County and part of Sebastian in Indian River County for 10 years, HFHP was founded as part of Health First, a not-for-profit family of healthcare services that also includes Cape Canaveral Hospital, Holmes Regional Medical Center, Palm Bay Community Hospital, Health First Physicians. For more information, visit healthfirsthealthplans.org or call 321.434.5665.