HCA Gulf Coast Division Hospitals in Corpus Christi, Texas Join Averde's Fight against Rising Healthcare Costs

Averde Health and HCA Gulf Coast Division announced that HCA Gulf Coast Division, which operates the 583-bed Corpus Christi Medical Center system, has joined Averde's provider and hospital network. This partnership means that health plan members using Averde's network will have access to HCA Gulf Coast Division facilities in Corpus Christi.

West Hartford, CT and Corpus Christi, TX (PRWEB) November 10, 2009 -- Averde Health and HCA Gulf Coast Division announced their partnership in an innovative healthcare network designed to hold down health care costs for consumers with high medical plan deductibles. Under this agreement, members in Averde plans will gain access to HCA Gulf Coast Division's four-campus Corpus Christi Medical Center system, which includes Doctor's Regional Hospital, Bay Area Hospital, The Heart Hospital and Northwest Regional Hospital. In return, Averde will guarantee to HCA Gulf Coast Division, the payment of patient balances including deductible and co-insurance amounts.

According to Averde CEO Tom Policelli, "Currently, people who have high deductible medical insurance could be stunned to find themselves owing thousands of dollars, often with no way to pay it. In addition, doctors and hospitals do not know up front how much they could be left to collect. The end result is a combination of patients with big debts, health care providers writing off more money each year, and consumer prices rising to compensate. That's an impossible situation, and Averde thinks we have an answer that can save money for everybody involved."

Adds Brittney Powlesson, Vice President of Managed Care for HCA Gulf Coast Division, "We believe that Averde has a refreshing approach to the payor / provider partnership and look forward to working with them."
Averde recently expanded into Texas and just recently announced similar agreements with other hospital systems in Corpus Christi and San Antonio. Averde is on plan for expansion into several other markets in Texas in the next year.

About Averde Health - Averde is building networks across the country, and expects to enter more than 20 markets in the next 24 months. It offers health care providers assurance that they will promptly be paid all they are owed. It offers patients easier-to-understand paperwork and guaranteed access to simplicity, security and savings with their high deductible benefit plan. Because providers get paid more, better and faster, many have offered their most competitive terms to members of Averde's network. For more information, on Averde Health, please visit www.averdehealth.com.

About HCA Gulf Coast Division - The HCA Gulf Coast Division family of hospitals in Corpus Christi encompasses a four-campus, 583 bed system, offering a full range of healthcare services with outstanding clinical care, superior technological care and comforting personal care. Corpus Christi Medical Center includes: Doctors Regional, Bay Area, The Heart Hospital and Northwest Regional, a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week emergency care center with laboratory and radiology services. For more information, please visit www.ccmedicalcenter.com.

Media Contact:
Averde Health, Inc.
Roberta Wachtelhausen
Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
(860) 270-0243
bert (at) averdehealth (dot) com

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