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History & MilestonesHistory & Milestones

AvMed was created in 1969 as a prepaid health care system for pilots in Miami’s aviation industry. The name AvMed is derived from "aviation medicine." Today, we’re Florida’s largest not-for-profit health plan. AvMed became licensed as an HMO in 1973 and earned federal qualification in 1977. Our mission continues to directly reflect our tradition of improving the health of our members and the communities we serve.

1969:

Established as a prepaid health plan for Miami pilots.

1973:

Licensed by the State of Florida as a Health Maintenance Organization.

1982:

Finalized contract with Health Care Financing Administration to provide Medicare coverage.

1986:

Acquired by SantaFe HealthCare, Inc., a health system based in Gainesville; converted to not-for-profit corporate structure.

1988:

Purchased the majority interest of SunCare HMO, Inc., a Jacksonville Health Maintenance Organization with approximately 20,000 members.

1989:

Purchased Lincoln National Health Care Insurance Company and its subsidiary Healthwin, an HMO with 60,000 members in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa.

1996:

AvMed recognized in Newsweek as one of the country’s top managed care companies.

1996:

AvMed earned Sachs Seal of Excellence Award in recognition of being one of the nation’s superior-performing HMOs.

1997:

Disease Management Programs implemented for asthma, congestive heart failure and high-risk pregnancies.

1998:

AvMed entered cyberspace with launch of avmed.org.

1998:

AvMed awarded full three-year accreditation by the Joint Commission for Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), giving AvMed the distinction of being one of only five HMOs in the country with accreditations from both the National Committee for Quality Assurance and JCAHO.

1998:

Ranked #1 in the Florida Health Plan Checkup Guide released by the Florida Agency on Health Care Administration.

1998:

Ranked number one in overall member satisfaction in South Florida in the CareData Group Member survey.

1998:

Scored high marks in U.S. News & World Report’s annual survey of HMOs.

1999:

Named "Top Rated Plan" in the 1999 Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan for South Florida and Gainesville.

2000:

Earned five stars in member satisfaction from the Agency for Health Care Administration, the best rank possible for overall plan satisfaction.

2005:  

AvMed volunteered for a survey of its care management and wellness programs by National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a national leader in the evaluation of health plans. AvMed was one of 57 health plans across the country that signed on as "early adopters."

   

AvMed also received a rating of "Excellent," the highest possible quality rating given to a health plan, from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The distinction was based on surveys of quality indicators and member evaluations. AvMed received the same distinction in 2006.

2006:  

Ranked as the health plan with the highest customer care in Florida by the National Research Corporation.

   

Received a "Quality Plus Distinction" award from The National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA).

2007:  

AvMed Health Plans receives an Excellent accreditation from the NCQA for both its Medicare and Commercial products. Few health plans nationwide can make this claim.

2008:  

Michael P. Gallagher is named Chief Executive Officer of Avmed Health Plans and Ed W. Hannum becomes President and Chief Operating Officer.

2009:  

For the fifth consecutive year, AvMed Health Plans received the highest overall rating of any statewide Florida plan that submitted data to NCQA in the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey (CAHPS), according to independent firm DSS Research. For 2009, AvMed received a score of 77% compared to the state average of 65% for plans reporting Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and Point of Service (POS) products.



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