Amerigroup transfers to NYSE. (Companies).

Amerigroup Corp., a health insurer that specializes in serving Medicaid and low-income members, transferred from the Nasdaq to the New York Stock Exchange, opening Jan. 3 with a stock price of $31.34 a share.

Jeffrey L. McWaters, chairman and chief executive officer, rang the opening bell on Amerigroup's first day of trading. The company is the first in 2003 to list on the Big Board and is trading under the stock symbol "AGP."

"Listing on the New York Stock Exchange is a milestone in our company's history," McWaters said in a statement. "It marks an important step in realizing our mission that health status can be improved" and states can achieve savings by giving 84 million uninsured and low-income Americans a choice of health care, he said.

The reason for the switch in the listing wasn't just that the company met the financial criteria, Chief Financial Officer Scott Tabakin said. The company noticed that the vast majority of its peers were listed on the NYSE and realized that listing there would make Amerigroup's stock less volatile over the long term, he said.

Amerigroup had launched its initial public offering on the Nasdaq in 2000.

The company also said it completed its acquisition of Physicians Healthcare Plans Inc. for about $121 million, effective Jan. 1. Physicians Healthcare's name has now changed to Amerigroup Florida Inc. and it not only has the look and feel of an Amerigroup plan but also the company's culture, Tabakin said.

The transaction will add about 190,000 members to the company in Florida, placing Amerigroup among the state's largest health-maintenance organizations serving the Medicaid and Florida Healthy Kids markets.

Amerigroup Florida will operate in 12 counties in central and southern Florida, including the metropolitan areas of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa.