September 30, 2023

Health Care Trends

Capital Gains

Tallahassee-based Capital Health Plan is a rare bird in the health world: An HMO that has both held down costs and kept its customers happy.

Lilly Rockwell | 9/11/2012

Medicare explosion

Capital Health isn’t immune to the same challenges other insurers face in holding down costs as it complies with the new health care law. Some provisions won’t impact the company, such as eliminating lifetime limits on coverage. “We’ve never had lifetime limits or annual limits,” Hogan says.

Still, the law changes how much Capital Health can charge employers based on the age and gender of patients.

A major challenge for Capital Health is the growth in the number of its Medicare enrollees as the area’s population ages. In just six years, its number of Medicare enrollees has swelled from 5,000 to 13,300, and the company expects to see that number grow further. “The explosion of Medicare is really going to be very significant,” Hogan says. Tallahassee will need more internists — different from family physicians — who understand better how to treat an elderly clientele, he says.

Demand for Medicare is also fueled by Capital Health’s high rankings last year as a Medicare provider. “We’re pretty gratified, but not satisfied,” Hogan says of the growth and praise. “Any time you get satisfied, you can start slipping in terms of attention you need to pay. It’s still a small town, and it’s still a word-of-mouth town. You’re only as good as your last game.”

Tags: Healthcare, Insurance

Florida Business News

  • Florida’s population boom drives bigger hurricane losses, despite tougher building codes

    Florida leads the nation in strict building codes, and the decades of hard work have paid off in the increasing number of homes and buildings that survive each time a hurricane slashes the state. But all those hard-won gains have been undermined by the explosion of growth along the coast.

  • Business BeatBusiness Beat - Week of September 29th

    Get top news-to-know with Florida Trend's headline-focused video news brief, hosted by digital content specialist Aimée Alexander.

  • Enterprise Florida exiting

    The doors are ready to close on Enterprise Florida, the business-recruitment agency long targeted by state House leaders.

  • Seeking protection

    Three activist groups served notice to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that they intend to sue to force the agency to invoke Endangered Species Act protection for the ghost orchid.

  • State jobless claims decrease

    An estimated 5,155 first-time jobless claims were filed in Florida last week, a decrease from the previous week and below the average for the year.

Florida News Releases

Florida Trend Video Pick

Radioactive roads? Florida has yet to submit application to EPA to start testing
Radioactive roads? Florida has yet to submit application to EPA to start testing

It appears no steps have been taken to begin testing whether slightly radioactive waste from fertilizer production can be repurposed for Florida road construction projects.

Video Picks | Viewpoints@FloridaTrend

Ballot Box

Do you believe that home values in Florida have finally peaked?

  • Absolutely!
  • No way!
  • The jury's still out...
  • Other (Let us know in the comment section below)

See Results

Florida Trend Media Company
490 1st Ave S
St Petersburg, FL 33701
727.821.5800

© Copyright 2023 Trend Magazines Inc. All rights reserved.