Florida Blue, Tampa General Hospital and HCA Healthcare West Florida Collaborate to Provide Local Businesses Affordable Health Insurance Options

Florida Blue affiliated company, Truli for Health, created to serve small to mid-sized employers.

Tampa, FL (Oct. 4, 2020) -- Truli for Health (Truli), an affiliate of Florida Blue and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a new health maintenance organization (HMO) expanding  in select Florida markets to give small and medium-size employers a new option for funding health care coverage. Through a collaboration with two leading health care organizations in Tampa Bay, area employers can begin enrolling in the plan October 1.

As Floridians begin to recover from COVID-19, one of the most significantly impacted segments is the small business market, where business owners often cannot afford to offer health care coverage to their staff. Under development for the last two years, Truli provides a unique solution to this challenge by supplying easy-to-understand plans, affordable costs for the employers, plus convenient physical and virtual access to top local providers for consumers.

For the Tampa Bay launch, Truli is working closely with two well respected health systems, Tampa General Hospital and HCA Healthcare West Florida. These progressive and nationally recognized health systems will work with Truli and other local providers that support this collaborative financing and delivery model. This includes the primary, specialty and urgent care facilities across the Tampa Bay area which are affiliated with Florida Blue – including Sanitas Medical Centers, Diagnostic Clinic Medical Group, and GuideWell Emergency Doctors.  This new, fully insured HMO is a first-of-its-kind value-based model for the employer group segment to meet the needs of price sensitive buyers by offering sustainably affordable premiums and a healthier, more productive workplace. 

“Florida Blue has long-standing relationships with both Tampa General and HCA Healthcare West Florida, and we are extremely pleased to be working with them and our other provider partners in this new product that was built from the ground up to leverage value-based care,” said Andy Marino, president of Truli for Health. “We appreciate both organization’s commitment to our vision for serving local employers in an innovative new way. We look forward to our continued collaboration as we strive to create a holistic health care experience that meets the health care needs of more Floridians.”

“Tampa General Hospital is excited and proud to be collaborating with Florida Blue on the new Truli for Health HMO, “said John Couris, president and CEO, Tampa General Hospital. “Truli’s unique model leverages provider and payor collaboration to deliver world class care at an affordable price for employers and consumers of healthcare.”

“HCA Healthcare is also excited to participant in this innovative approach to providing small and medium businesses with an affordable option to keep their employees and their families healthy,” said Ravi Chari, M.D., President, HCA Healthcare West Florida. “The Tampa Bay area has benefitted greatly from healthcare collaborations during this pandemic, and we look forward to expanding these efforts to create community healthcare access solutions.”

When faced with rare and complex conditions, Truli members will have multiple options to access care through their local health system or via participating providers in other Truli markets - all done in coordination with their local physician.

About Truli For Health

Truli for Health is a new kind of health care company that offers simple and affordable HMO plans built for small and mid-size employer groups. An affiliate of Florida Blue, the company’s forward-thinking approach focuses on the patient-doctor relationship, in collaboration with local, high quality doctors and health systems in Florida. Truli for Health is the trade name of BeHealthy Florida, Inc., and is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

About Tampa General Hospital

Tampa General Hospital, a 1006-bed non-profit academic medical center, delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 18 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track.  As one of the largest hospitals in Florida, Tampa General Hospital is first in the state to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost.  For more information, go to www.tgh.org.

About HCA Healthcare West Florida

HCA Healthcare West Florida provides a complete continuum of high-quality programs and services to meet the healthcare needs of residents and businesses throughout west Florida, caring for more than 1.2 million patients last year.  HCA Healthcare West Florida includes 15 hospitals, 27 ER locations, 13 ambulatory surgery centers, numerous physician practices, graduate medical education programs, a regional lab, and consolidated service center. Our hospitals include Blake Medical Center, Brandon Regional Hospital, Citrus Memorial Hospital, Doctors Hospital of Sarasota, Englewood Community Hospital, Fawcett Memorial Hospital, Largo Medical Center, Medical Center of Trinity, Memorial Hospital of Tampa, Northside Hospital, Oak Hill Hospital, Palms of Pasadena Hospital, Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, South Bay Hospital and St. Petersburg General Hospital. HCA Healthcare West Florida is affiliated with HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of healthcare services. With its founding in 1968, HCA Healthcare created a new model for hospital care in the United States, using combined resources to strengthen hospitals, deliver patient-focused care and improve the practice of medicine.