AMERIGROUP Offers Medicare Plan in Maryland Designed to Meet Health Needs of Older, Low-Income Citizens

LINTHICUM, Md., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AMERIGROUP Community Care of Maryland has won federal approval to offer a health plan that addresses the specialized needs of people enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare. The plan began serving members on January 1, 2007.

The health plan, which is called AMERIVANTAGE, is a Medicare Special Needs Plan (SNP) tailored to serve low-income people who are over age 65 or are handicapped and who live in four localities: the City of Baltimore and Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's counties. The plan is open to individuals known as "dual eligibles" because they get their healthcare through two publicly-funded programs, Medicare and Medicaid.

"AMERIVANTAGE offers our members the medical equivalent of one-stop shopping," said Steven B. Larsen, Chief Executive Officer, AMERIGROUP Community Care of Maryland. "This not only helps our members get the right care to live healthier lives, it makes getting that care much easier."

The AMERIVANTAGE plan serves people who often are very ill and who depend almost totally on publicly-funded programs for extensive medical care. AMERIVANTAGE analyzes and addresses the full range of members' healthcare needs -- which often include an array of medical specialists, prescription drugs and support services -- and handles the paperwork needed to obtain and pay for their care.

AMERIGROUP Community Care of Maryland is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AMERIGROUP Corporation, which also offers an AMERIVANTAGE plan for "dual eligibles" in Houston and surrounding Harris County, Texas. AMERIGROUP Corporation is a national leader in offering healthcare services to low-income Americans with long term illnesses or disabilities.

AMERIGROUP Corporation , headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia, improves healthcare access and quality for low-income Americans by developing innovative managed health services for the public sector. Through its wholly owned subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP serves more than 1.2 million people in the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit http://www.amerigroupcorp.com/.

CONTACTS: News Media: Kent Jenkins Jr. Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell Senior Vice President, Senior Vice President, Communications Investor Relations [phone] [phone]