Healthfirst proudly expands to Northern New Jersey
Medicare to be first plan offering

New York, NY, 10/22/2007 - Healthfirst Health Plan of New Jersey, Inc. announced today that it is now conducting business in Northern New Jersey effective October 1st, offering Medicare Advantage plans to Medicare beneficiaries in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties. Healthfirst Medicare Plan members can join during the open enrollment period starting on November 15th, and will be effective January 1, 2008.

Healthfirst Medicare Plan offers New Jersey Medicare recipients all the benefits offered by Original Medicare and much more. All plans have been designed with New Jersey residents in mind. Depending on the plan they choose, 2008 benefits include:

• Up to $400 a year ($100 per quarter) for non-prescription drugs and health-related items using a health spending card at Rite Aid Pharmacy locations
• Up to 8 round trips per year (2 per quarter) of free car service to and from their doctor
• Reimbursement of up to $1000 US for routine healthcare services received outside the United States, excluding US territories
  
• Up to $10,000 per year for Medicare-covered services received from a Medicare provider in Puerto Rico
• Comprehensive dental benefits and much more

Healthfirst Medicare Plan is administered by HF Management Services, LLC which also manages Healthfirst programs in the State of New York. Healthfirst is New York State’s largest provider of state-sponsored health insurance programs based on overall membership in Medicaid, Family Health Plus and Child Health Plus.* Working in partnership for the past 15 years with the leading hospitals and medical centers throughout New York City’s five boroughs and Long Island, Healthfirst provides quality health insurance coverage to over 480,000 members cared for by a growing network of close to 20,000 providers.

“As a result of our success, experience and financial stability in New York, we saw an opportunity to take our unique hospital-sponsored healthcare business model across the river into the Garden State,” said Don Ashkenase, Chairman of the Board, Healthfirst. “By partnering with participating hospitals in northern New Jersey, our team has developed a solid understanding and an effective approach to meet the ever-changing needs of medically underserved New Jersey residents.”

“Our business model is unique because Healthfirst puts excess medical revenue back into the healthcare system,” says Jack Stephenson, Executive Director, Healthfirst NJ. “Due to our successful model in New York, a few of the New Jersey hospitals affiliated with the Greater New York Hospital Association invited Healthfirst to explore a similar model with them which led to the birth of Healthfirst NJ.”

"We are pleased that Healthfirst will be serving patients in New Jersey,” Bill McDonald, President and CEO, St. Joseph's Health Care System.