The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Dec. 7--Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and the HCA Corp. hospital chain extended their contract Friday to run through Dec. 16.
The contract was set to expire Monday, which would have meant thousands of Blue Cross and Blue Shield customers would have lost access to HCA hospitals in South Florida and the Treasure Coast.
The two companies are still negotiating, Blue Cross spokesman Bruce Middlebrooks said.
Blue Cross has about 300,000 customers from Vero Beach to Boca Raton. HCA owns five area hospitals: JFK Medical Center in Atlantis, Columbia Hospital in West Palm Beach, Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce and St. Lucie Medical Centers in Port St. Lucie.
STERLING TO MOVE HEADQUARTERS: Sterling Financial Investment Group will move its corporate headquarters and about 20 employees to Miami Beach from Boca Raton, the stockbrokerage and investment bank said Friday.
About 80 employees will remain at Sterling Financial's Mizner Park office, spokesman Jeff Mustard said. Moving to the Miami Beach office are Sterling Financial President Alexis Korybut and the company's investment banking and private client divisions.
Sterling Financial, owned by Charles Patrick Garcia of Boca Raton, has a number of clients and offices in Latin America.
AUTO INSURANCE ILLS EXAMINED: State Senate President Jim King has formed a committee to look into the state's ailing auto insurance system and told lawmakers to 'fix it or flush it.'
Sen. J.D. Alexander, R-Winter Haven, will head the nine-member group, which includes rookie Sen. Dave Aronberg, D-Greenacres.
King, R-Jacksonville, created the panel Thursday.
State lawmakers created the 'no fault' system, which requires every motorist to carry at least $10,000 of personal injury protection coverage, in the 1970s. But the system has turned into lucrative source of cash for scammers, regulators say.
VERICHIP LANDS S. KOREA DEAL: VeriChip Corp., a subsidiary of Palm Beach-based Applied Digital Solutions, said Friday it has signed a five-year distribution agreement to provide at least 75,000 implantable VeriChips to the South Korean market.
The agreement with Global Integrated Technology Inc. of Industry, Calif., calls for an initial purchase of 5,000 identification microchips over three months, as well as 216 scanners.
The minimum purchase quota is expected to reach at least 75,000 chips and more than 7,500 scanners totaling more than $10 million, according to Applied Digital Solutions (Nasdaq: ADSX, 58 cents).
VeriChip is an identification device that can be used for a variety of security, financial and emergency applications.
INSURANCE DEAL PROMPTS SUIT: A dozen Palm Beach County and Treasure Coast residents filed a lawsuit Friday against TRG Marketing LLC and several local insurance agents, charging they sold them an unlicensed insurance policy.
The policy was sold under the name TRG Employee Health Insurance Plan.
The suit, filed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, seeks class-action status.
MENIN PLANS GARDENS CENTER: Menin Development Cos. completed a deal Friday for 35 acres west of The Gardens mall.
Jupiter-based Menin paid about $16.5 million for the land owned by Catalfumo Construction and Development.
Menin plans a lifestyle and entertainment center anchored by Cobb Theatres and Whole Foods Market. Shops and restaurants also are planned.
The development is expected to be open by the fall of 2004.
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(c) 2002, The Palm Beach Post, Fla. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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