AvMed Covers H1N1 Flu Vaccine For Members

MIAMI, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- AvMed Health Plans announced that it will cover
H1N1 flu administration fees for all of its fully insured members. Co-pays,
co-insurance and deductibles will not apply for administration of the H1N1
vaccine even if they have a benefit plan that does not include immunizations.

"AvMed is committed to the health and well-being of our members and we want to
ensure that the H1N1 national emergency vaccination effort goes as smoothly as
possible," said Kirk Cianciolo, D.O., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical
Officer of AvMed Health Plans.

Additionally, AvMed is providing members and employers educational materials
related to H1N1 virus, including the following current guidelines and
information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

The CDC is recommending that programs and providers administer the vaccine to
persons in the following five target groups (order of target groups does not
indicate priority):
-- Pregnant women,
-- Persons who live with or provide care for infants aged <6 months
(e.g.,
parents, siblings, and daycare providers),
-- Health care and emergency medical services personnel,
-- Persons aged 6 months through 24 years, and

-- Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have medical conditions that put
them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

AvMed is closely monitoring the developments related to the H1N1 flu vaccine.
For more information, log on to www.avmed.org or www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

About AvMed Health Plans
With more than 35 years in Florida, AvMed is one of the state's oldest and
largest not-for-profit health plans, and is solely focused on providing health
coverage to Florida citizens and businesses. AvMed is one of only a few health
plans in the United States that enjoys dual "Excellent" accreditation status
for both its commercial and Medicare health plans from the National Committee
for Quality Assurance, the nation's top health care quality evaluator. In
addition, AvMed has received an "A," or "Excellent" rating by TheStreet.com
Ratings, placing it among the top six percent of all health plans in the
United States in terms of financial strength.

SOURCE AvMed Health Plans

Conchita Ruiz-Topinka, Director, Communications, AvMed Health Plans,
+1-305-671-7306, conchita.ruiz@avmed.org