ROCKLEDGE, FL (October 26, 2007) — Health First Medicare Plans (HFMP), the Medicare Advantage health plans offered by Health First Health Plans (HFHP), is the highest ranked Medicare health plan in Florida for quality according to a study published by U.S. News & World Report (U.S. News) and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The report, America's Best Health Plans 2007, also ranked HFHP's commercial plans second in the state.

Nationally, HFHP ranked 27th out of 192 Medicare plans surveyed, and 97th out of 314 commercial plans. The November 5 print edition of U.S. News will list America's top 50 commercial, top 25 Medicare and top 25 Medicaid plans, and the rankings of all health plans will be available online at www.usnews.com as well as more detailed information on each plan. As a result, more than 10 million regular readers and millions of additional Medicare beneficiaries, employers, benefits managers and consultants will have ready access to objective information about plan quality during this year's open enrollment season.

NCQA is an independent, non-profit organization that assesses and reports on the quality of the nation's managed care plans. Rankings for America's Best Health Plans 2007 are compiled from NCQA accreditation scores, as well as clinical quality and member satisfaction surveys. Ratings for each of these general areas are based on data from a variety of sources, including the Medicare Advantage Consumer Assessment of Health Plans Study (MA-CAHPS) conducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that administers Medicare, and the Health Plan Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS®). NCQA created HEDIS as a nation-wide, comprehensive measure of health issues and consumer experiences aimed at giving healthcare purchasers and consumers a tool to evaluate and choose health plans based on demonstrated quality and value, rather than cost alone.

Clinical quality for U.S. News/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2007 is reported in three categories: consumer experience, prevention, and treatment. The published report will include ratings for each of these categories on a scale of one to five stars.

HFHP also holds an accreditation status of Excellent — the highest possible level — from NCQA. The Excellent status was based on a voluntary review of how a health plan ensures its members are receiving high quality care.

"We're extremely proud to be recognized as the best in Florida. It means our network physicians, employees, and other partners are doing a fantastic job taking care of our members," said Joy Gilbert, vice president of Clinical Services for HFHP.

"It's an honor to be recognized by these two highly respected organizations. This report shows our efforts really are improving the health of our members," added Peter Weiss, MD, CEO of HFHP.

Centrally located in the Suntree area, HFHP currently has 63,600 members — nearly one out of every eight residents in Brevard — including 22,200 Medicare members.

Serving residents of Brevard County and part of Sebastian in Indian River County for 11 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 www.healthfirsthealthplans.org or call 321.434.5600.

"America's Best Health Plans" is a trademark of US News & World Report.
HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.