It includes Regence
BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross
BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (in Washington). For more information, visit http://www.

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PORTLAND, Ore.

Blue Cross offered hospitalization plans, while Blue Shield offered coverage for physicians' services.

supplementary catastrophic

The MA-PDs will be offered through
Regence MedAdvantage , Asuris MedAdvantage and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of
Oregon's FirstChoice 65. "And, we are very excited to
bring our MedAdvantage and FirstChoice members the option to add a drug
benefit. Colorado is a new report for Health
Plan Analysis.

hmo georgians

Providing more cost-effective access to
prescription drugs to the people who need them most is one way Regence can
help transform the health care system .

administers wdc

"
UnitedHealthcare agreed to a number of conditions placed on the merger by
state officials , including no pass-through of merger costs to Colorado
consumers via higher premiums, the appointment of an ombudsman to resolve
issues with physicians, and a promise to invest in rural healthcare.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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regence.

Employers Concerned About Consolidation of Colorado Health Plans According to HealthLeaders-InterStudy

com.

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The Regence Group and its affiliate
plans are not-for-profit, independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue
Shield Association. "Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, owned by the nation's largest
insurer, WellPoint, and Kaiser Permanente, the California-based nonprofit
known for its integrated health systems, are both strong, profitable
companies .
(http://www.

For more information, contact:

Alex Jablokow
Decision Resources
781-296-2562
ajablokow@dresources.

licensee supplementary

Both now offer the full gamut of health insurance.

hmo hospitalization

Medicare Part D is the
prescription drug coverage that will be available to seniors and other
Medicare-eligible consumers beginning Jan.
"We expect that our expertise as a pharmacy benefit manager will enable us
to make a smooth transition into offering the stand-alone drug plan ," said
David Clark, vice president of Pharmacy Services. Regardless of any possible efficiency gains ,
they do not foresee any reduction in the premiums they pay for their
employees.

supplementary wellpoint

According to Colorado Health Plan Analysis, a new
HealthLeaders-InterStudy report covering the state, the combined company has
about 800,000 members, or 27 percent of the state's health insurance market.

About HealthLeaders-InterStudy
HealthLeaders-InterStudy, a company of Decision Resources, Inc.

administers ppo

At the national level and in most states, the organizations have joined together.

employers pbc

Regence Receives Conditional Approval to Offer Medicare Part D

"Despite the merger, United and PacifiCare still face formidable
competition in Colorado," said Don Mooradian, HealthLeaders-InterStudy
analyst .

Canada
------
All member plans are run by not-for-profit organizations.

wellpoint indemnity

Regence submitted eight Part D applications to CMS.com. For more information, please visit
http://www.com

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, The Regence Group announced today
that it has received conditional approval from the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer Medicare Part D plans. Two of these
applications were to offer stand-alone prescription drug plans (PDPs) in two
Medicare regions.

blue shield

1, 2006., HealthLeaders -InterStudy, a
leading provider of managed care industry intelligence, finds that
UnitedHealth Group's recent acquisition of PacifiCare makes it the largest
insurer in Colorado.

licensee locates

More than one in three Americans have coverage from the
Blues.
Employer coalitions like the Colorado Business Group on Health don't see
any benefit in consolidation.DecisionResources.

United States
------ -------
Blue Cross and Blue Shield were originally two separate organizations.

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These regions are Washington -Oregon and Idaho-Utah.

Other health plan news in Colorado:
All but one Colorado HMO showed a profit through the first half of 2005,
though overall net income was down from the previous six month period, largely
due to a significant drop in Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado 's net
income.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has rolled out Tonik, a plan aimed at
young uninsured adults.

formulary pbc

CIGNA HealthCare is expanding its clinical management program and health
coaching capabilities through its CareAllies division.

Since Canada has national health insurance , the primary Blue Cross product is supplemental health benefits.

administers licensee

Regence was granted conditional approval upon meeting federal standards
set by the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003.

About Health Plan Analysis
Health Plan Analysis identifies key health plan trends, allowing
healthcare businesses to create comprehensive strategic plans and sales
strategies at state and local levels.

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The cost of prescription drugs is often prohibitive for seniors and
other Medicare -eligible consumers.

Until the 1990's, all organizations had a non-commercial structure.

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Regence intends to begin
marketing the new prescription drug plans in October 2005 upon receiving a
final approval from CMS. National insurers like Aetna and CIGNA HealthCare are also pouring
resources into the state .com), is the authoritative source for managed
care data and analysis.

bluecross pbc

georgians employers

com.

About The Regence Group
Created in 1996, The Regence Group is the largest affiliation of health
care plans in the Pacific Northwest/Mountain State region.

NASHVILLE, Tenn.HealthLeaders-InterStudy .

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Some plans have become for-profit organizations.

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The
remaining six applications were for MA-PDs -- prescription drug plans that are
specific to the Medicare Advantage program."
For more information on RegenceRx, the company's in-house pharmacy benefit
management program (PBM), go to http://www.regencerx. Through these
plans, Regence provides health, life, vision, dental and long -term care
insurance to nearly three million members.