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"Since we announced our initial 2008 guidance last October, the FederalReserve has lowered the Federal Funds Rate substantially," said James W.Truess, AMERIGROUP's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "Wehave been able to absorb previous rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in ourguidance, we believe yesterday's action will further impact us during theremainder of 2008."
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The Company also announced that, while the winter season is not yetcomplete, medical costs in the first quarter of 2008 have thus far been withinthe range of historical seasonal patterns. Based on paid claims data for thefirst two months of 2008, the Company's December 2007 reserves appear to beadequate.
2008 Outlook
AMERIGROUP's updated 2008 annual earnings estimates of $2.46 to $2.61 perdiluted share are predicated on the following assumptions, among others:
2008 earnings outlook does not reflect any dilutive or accretive impactfrom:
Lehman Brother's Global Healthcare Conference
As previously announced, senior members of AMERIGROUP's management teamare scheduled to present at the Lehman Brothers Global Healthcare Conferenceon Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Time. The public may accessa live webcast of the presentation and accompanying slides on AMERIGROUP's Website, www.amerigroupcorp.com, on the investors' page.
First Quarter Earnings Call
AMERIGROUP is scheduled to report its earnings for the first quarter endedMarch 31, 2008, after the market closes on Wednesday, April 23, 2008. At 9:30a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, April 24, 2008, AMERIGROUP's management willhost a conference call and webcast to discuss earnings and other information.
To listen to the call, dial 866-260-3161 (domestic) or (01) 706-679-7245(international) and provide passcode 39990828 approximately ten minutes priorto the start time of the call. The conference call will also be availablethrough the investors' page of the Company's Web site, www.amerigroupcorp.com,or through www.earnings.com.
A telephonic replay of this call will be available shortly after theconclusion of the call through Thursday, May 1. This replay may be accessedby dialing 800-642-1687 (domestic) or (01) 706-645-9291 (international) andproviding passcode 39990828. A replay of the webcast will also be availableat the sites listed above for 30 days, beginning approximately two hours afterits conclusion.
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 Corporationserves more than 1.7 million people in the District of Columbia, Florida,Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee,Texas and Virginia. For more information, visit www.amerigroupcorp.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release is intended to be disclosure through methods reasonablydesigned to provide broad, non-exclusionary distribution to the public incompliance with the Securities and Exchange Commission's Fair DisclosureRegulation. This release contains certain ''forward-looking'' statementsrelated to expected 2008 earnings which are subject to numerous factors, manyof which are outside of our control, including the levels and amounts ofmembership, revenues, organic pre
