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"Every baby born in America deserves a fair chance to grow up in goodhealth. But as the March of Dimes makes all too clear with its 'PrematureBirth Report Card,' that is not the case today. Studies show that babies bornprematurely often contend with illnesses that linger throughout childhood. Yetthe March of Dimes found that our Nation's overall rate of premature births isfar too high, varies dramatically from state to state and is going up.
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"AMERIGROUP considers this a national crisis. As a healthcare company thatoperates Medicaid programs for 11 states, we serve 1.7 million people andcovered 62,000 child births in 2007. All of our members are financiallyvulnerable and many are African-American, Hispanic or other minorities -- allgroups that suffer a high incidence of premature birth. Yet mothers covered byAMERIGROUP have a premature birth rate of about 9.6 percent, which isconsiderably less than the overall national figure of 12.8 percent, accordingto the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's almost half thepremature birth rate among African-Americans, 18.4 percent, a statistic weshould all find shocking and tragic.
"AMERIGROUP's doctors, nurses and social workers strive to connectpregnant women with the right medical care as early in their pregnancy aspossible. Their work makes an enormous difference in the lives of mothers andchildren. And as fewer babies begin life in a hospital intensive care unit,the cost of their healthcare goes down.
"But as the March of Dimes Report Card shows, no one -- including ourCompany -- is accomplishing enough. None of America's 50 states earned an 'A'by achieving a premature birth rate of 7.6 percent -- the goal set by thefederal government in its National Healthy People 2010 report.
"We have a moral obligation to give our children a healthy start. We urgePresident-elect Barack Obama and Congress to expand Medicaid and the StateChildren's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to ensure ALL of America'schildren have an equal chance at good health. We must act now. Our childrensimply can't wait."
About AMERIGROUP Corporation
AMERIGROUP Corporation, headquartered in Virginia Beach, Virginia,improves healthcare access and quality for the financially vulnerable, seniorsand people with disabilities by developing innovative managed health servicesfor the public sector. Through its subsidiaries, AMERIGROUP Corporation servesapproximately 1.7 million people in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey,New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Formore information, visit http://www.amerigroupcorp.com.CONTACTS: Investors: Julie Loftus Trudell Senior Vice President, Investor Relations AMERIGROUP Corporation (757) 321-3597 News Media: Kent Jenkins Jr. Senior Vice President, External Communications AMERIGROUP Corporation (757) 769-7859
SOURCE AMERIGROUP Corporation
