PHS Pacificare Hlth Sys

* Agreement with AAA Auto Club South gives PacifiCare Access to More Than Half a Million Senior Members of Nation's Third-Largest AAA Affiliate CYPRESS, Calif., Oct. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. (NYSE:PHS) entered into an agreement with AAA Auto Club South to market PacifiCare's standalone Part D prescription drug plans exclusively to the more than a half-million Auto Club South members over the age of 65. Under the terms of the agreement, AAA Auto Club South will exclusively market PacifiCare's standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to all its senior members and give PacifiCare preferred access to its members in Florida, Georgia and Western Tennessee. PacifiCare in turn will offer members of one of the largest AAA regional affiliates access to affordable, quality prescription drug coverage through Prescription Solutions from PacifiCare. This partnership further expands PacifiCare's marketing and distribution strategy, which includes numerous exclusive agreements with senior-focused insurance companies and brokers nationwide. The new AAA affiliation extends PacifiCare's consumer reach to more than 2 million senior consumers nationwide who will receive Medicare prescription drug plan offerings exclusively from Prescription Solutions from PacifiCare. In addition, AAA will also provide its marketing experience to introduce Prescription Solutions from PacifiCare to meet the needs of AAA members. "Our goal was to partner with a company with extensive experience and expertise in serving the health care needs of seniors and to make available an affordable, quality Part D prescription drug plan for our members," said Larry Patrick, senior vice president of Insurance and Financial Services, AAA Auto Club South. "PacifiCare's nationwide reach and established relationships with broker and insurance organizations convinced us that Prescription Solutions from PacifiCare is the right choice for our members." "We look forward to working with one of the most revered institutions in America; AAA is one of the few organizations with which members maintain relationships throughout their lives," said Jacqueline Kosecoff, Ph.D., PacifiCare's executive vice president, Specialty Companies. "It's critical that Medicare-eligible individuals receive information regarding the new prescription drug benefit from institutions they trust. We feel our relationship with AAA Auto Club South is a significant step in helping us connect with seniors. Our coming together shows that two leading organizations can take action to improve seniors' health and well-being." PacifiCare's standalone Medicare Part D prescription drug plans have recently been approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in all 50 states. Three different plans -- PacifiCare Saver Plan, PacifiCare Comprehensive Plan and PacifiCare Select Plan -- form the heart of the company's prescription drug insurance offering to Medicare-eligible seniors, retirees and other consumers across the United States, with coverage starting Jan. 1, 2006. PacifiCare's prescription drug plans offer a wide range in savings and choices of benefit options intended to meet individual needs, and each plan has no annual deductible. The range in monthly premiums reflects the variety of benefits offered and the variation in utilization in each region of the country, with premiums ranging from $19.02 to $34.88 for the Saver Plan, from $33.91 to $54.51 for the Comprehensive Plan, and from $29.64 to $49.02 for the Select Plan. In addition to senior-focused insurance companies, PacifiCare has recently signed exclusive agreements with several of the country's largest independent insurance brokerage organizations -- or field marketing organizations -- that support general agents and independent brokers to sell its Medicare Part D prescription drug plans and other PacifiCare senior products including its Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug (MA-PD) and SecureHorizons Direct private fee-for-service plans. Many of the field marketing organizations' agents already work closely with PacifiCare and have been successfully selling the Medicare Advantage and private fee-for-service plans. PacifiCare's marketing and distribution platform is expected to extend the company's market reach, deepen its penetration and enhance its own direct-to-consumer marketing campaigns. PacifiCare's agreements, in addition to the network of insurance companies, will leverage the power of a licensed national sales force of up to 30,000 brokers and agents and establish PacifiCare's presence in markets throughout the United States. About AAA Auto Club South As North America's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides its more than 47 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services and has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA Auto Club South is the third largest affiliate of the AAA federation with nearly 4 million members in Florida, Georgia, the western two-thirds of Tennessee and Puerto Rico. Auto Club South's Insurance Agency is the largest independent personal lines agency in the southeast. About PacifiCare PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with nearly 3.3 million health plan members and approximately 11.3 million specialty plan members nationwide. PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products. Today, PacifiCare is the nation's second-largest senior health insurance company with more than 20 years' experience delivering affordable, quality health care coverage to America's seniors. PacifiCare's specialty plan operations include behavioral health and dental and vision, as well as complete pharmacy benefit management with more than a decade of experience specializing in the senior prescription-drug market. More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at http://www.pacificare.com/. DATASOURCE: PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. CONTACT: Tyler Mason, Media Relations, +1-714-226-3530, , or Dan Yarbrough, Investor Relations, +1-714-226-3540 , both of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. Web site: http://www.pacificare.com/

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