The first new fully-insured health plan available to employers and individuals statewide in more than five years has been approved by the State of Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) and is now available, announced the Company's co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Charles O'Neill. Florida based Avalon Healthcare, Inc. (Avalon) offers consumer driven health plans (CDHP) on a preferred provider organization (PPO) platform with the option to add Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs). "There is a dynamic change taking place in the health insurance industry with the movement of healthcare plan designs away from first dollar coverage options like HMOs to consumer directed PPO plans with health savings options like HSAs attached," O'Neill said. "These plans will have a tremendous impact on how Florida employers and consumers purchase, use and manage healthcare for years to come."
Avalon Healthcare was founded by O'Neill and Drew Cassidy in August 2004 in anticipation of changes expected in health insurance products and as an answer to the diminishing competitive healthcare landscape in Florida. Within the past 10 years, a large number of health insurers have left Florida leaving only a few carrier options in the small group and individual healthcare markets.
