VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AMERIGROUP Corporation will expand healthcare coverage for Texas Medicaid recipients by offering new programs for people served by Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, in Corpus Christi and El Paso and increasing services in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Austin, under awards announced today by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The Commission announced the results of a statewide competitive-bidding process that will increase the role of AMERIGROUP Texas, Inc., AMERIGROUP's wholly owned subsidiary, in the STAR and the TexCare, or CHIP programs. AMERIGROUP markets, which previously included 735,000 combined STAR and CHIP eligibles, now have been expanded by 401,000 new eligibles including the Corpus Christi and El Paso service areas. As of March 31, 2005, AMERIGROUP Texas served approximately 392,000 members. In accordance with Medicaid regulations requiring a choice of managed care entities, AMERIGROUP will no longer be the sole entity in the Fort Worth market once the new contracts are operational.
Along with the STAR and CHIP programs, AMERIGROUP also serves Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, enrollees through the STAR+PLUS program in Houston and surrounding Harris County. The awards announced today do not include the anticipated expansion of the STAR+PLUS program. Further announcements on the 110,000 estimated STAR+PLUS eligibles are expected later in the summer.
"The State of Texas conducted a thorough review of all bidders and created an offering that will improve the healthcare system and access for low-income Texans. This award allows AMERIGROUP the opportunity to expand its services to thousands of Texans," said Frederick C. Dunlap, AMERIGROUP senior vice president, health plan operations, who oversees AMERIGROUP Texas. "We are pleased to partner with the State of Texas as they take their Medicaid managed care program to the next level, continuing its tradition of leadership on a national level."
Today's announcement is subject to contract negotiations between the Commission and AMERIGROUP Texas. These contract negotiations are expected to be finalized in late summer 2005. The Commission said that new operations in all service areas are expected to begin sometime in 2006.
More details are available at the HHSC website at http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/ENews/.
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, improves healthcare access and quality for low-income Americans by developing innovative managed health services for the public sector. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP serves more than one million people in New York, New Jersey, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Florida, Texas and Illinois. For more information, visit http://www.amerigroupcorp.com.
CONTACT: Kent Jenkins Jr., Vice President, Communications, +1-757-518-3671, or Julie Loftus Trudell, Vice President, Investor Relations, +1-757-321-3597, both of AMERIGROUP Corporation.
AMERIGROUP CorporationCONTACT: Kent Jenkins Jr., Vice President, Communications,+1-757-518-3671, or Julie Loftus Trudell, Vice President, InvestorRelations, +1-757-321-3597, both of AMERIGROUP Corporation
