ROCKLEDGE, FL (February 13, 2008) — Health First Health Plans (HFHP) was recently named by the City of Melbourne as the health plan for the city's 900 employees and their families.

A representative group of city employees selected HFHP through a bid and interview process. The City Council reviewed and approved the committee's recommendation on Tuesday, February 12. Coverage begins Thursday, April 1.

"We are thrilled the City has chosen us to be their health plan, and proud we can help them save money for their employees and taxpayers in the process. It's a win-win relationship for our community," said Peter Weiss, MD, CEO of HFHP. "With 900 employees, plus their dependents, we expect to enroll nearly 1,800 members," he added.

"We were able to offer them a plan with better benefits than they've had in the past, a great provider network, and even a slight decrease in premium. Plus, our plans include membership at Pro-Health & Fitness Center as a covered benefit with no extra cost," said Angela Handa, vice president of Sales & Service for HFHP.

Centrally located in the Suntree area, HFHP currently has 64,000 members — nearly one out of every eight residents in Brevard — including 22,600 Medicare Advantage members. Other municipal accounts include the cities of Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach, and West Melbourne, and the towns of Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, and Melbourne Village.

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 321-434-5665.