Priority Health Utilizes Medicare Part D to Provide Affordable Options

(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – October 11, 2005)
Priority Health is now offering Medicare recipients even more affordable options for health care and prescription-drug coverage. With its recently awarded contract from the federal government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer Medicare Part D drug coverage, Priority Health will now offer two enhanced and significantly less expensive Medicare Advantage plans and a stand-alone prescription-drug plan.

Priority Health has three Medicare plans that include prescription-drug coverage:

• PriorityMedicare^SM – is a Medicare Advantage plan that provides recipients with medical coverage including covered preventive health services and prescription-drug coverage. This plan is available in Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties for a monthly premium of $30.
• PriorityMedicarePlus^SM – offers medical coverage similar to PriorityMedicare plus "richer" prescription-drug coverage. This plan is available in Kent, Ottawa and Allegan counties for a monthly premium of $38.
• PriorityMedicareRx^SM – is a stand-alone prescription-drug plan. It is available to Medicare eligible individuals in the state of Michigan for a monthly premium of $32.26.

"Each of us has a family member or a friend who has struggled with the rising cost of health care," said Kimberly Horn, president and CEO for Priority Health, "and no one has been hit harder than the Medicare population. That is why we felt strongly that we should provide products that help Medicare recipients affordably access the care and services they need."

"Medicare recipients will have an advantage signing up with Priority Health," added Jim Byrne, M.D. chief medical officer for Priority Health. "They will get access to affordable care with simple co-pays and little to no paperwork, from a local and trusted company."

Medicare recipients may enroll in Priority Health’s new plans from November 15, 2005 through May 15, 2006. Those who are currently enrolled in Priority Health’s PriorityMedicare program will be automatically enrolled into the new improved 2006 PriorityMedicare plan with a lower premium and enhanced drug coverage.

Per federal regulations those Medicare eligible individuals who wait to enroll after the May 15, 2006 deadline may pay a penalty in the form of higher premiums.

Information on Priority Health’s Medicare plans is available at priorityhealth.com. A free informational brochure is also available by calling 888 389-6676.

Company Information:
Priority Health is a nationally recognized health plan company based in Michigan. It provides more than 450,000 members with a broad portfolio of products including HMOs, PPOs, HSAs and HRAs. It is a non-profit company governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. Priority Health is rated number one by the National Business Coalition on Health and is consistently ranked among the nation's best health plans by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and U.S. News & World Report.