Commercial enrollment propels PHP growth.

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 26, 1996--Marketing efforts at Physicians Healthcare Plans Inc., (PHP) aimed at commercial membership have led to a shift in the balance of the company's HMO composition to favor commercial participants, announced Michael B. Fernandez, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the health maintenance organization.

PHP has enjoyed significant growth since it began operating in October 1993. Its membership now exceeds 100,000, and commercial members account for slightly less than 60 percent of total membership. The balance of members are Medicaid recipients.

"We've experienced overall growth in excess of 90 percent over the past year, and all of that has been internally generated," Fernandez said. "Commercial clients are increasingly attracted to the quality of the network of care providers that we have established."

Earlier this year, PHP established a network of South Florida providers, and subsequently began marketing its services in the tri-county area. Total enrollment is growing at a rate of 4,000 to 6,000 new members per month.

PHP recently received three-years' accreditation from AAAHC, one of the accrediting organizations recognized by Florida's Agency of Health Care Administration (AHCA).

Physicians Healthcare Plans is headquartered in Tampa and serves the Tampa Bay, South Florida and Central Florida markets. The company is backed by Welsh, Carson, Anderson and Stowe and the Calver Fund, two of the nation's largest healthcare investment groups with over $3 billion in invested capital.

CONTACT: Physicians Healthcare Plans Inc., Tampa

Michael B. Fernandez

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

813/229-5300 or 305/441-9400