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PacifiCare Partners With Pacific Employers Alliance Trust to Provide Health Insurance for Washington's Small Businesses

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 12:00 CDT

MERCER ISLAND, Wash., July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. has partnered with the Pacific Employers Alliance Trust (PEAT) to provide health insurance and other employee benefits to small businesses with five to 50 employees in Washington state.

By consolidating many small businesses into one large group, PEAT is able to offer small businesses more affordable and flexible health plan designs. In addition to providing competitive rates, PEAT offers an array of PacifiCare products including PacifiCare SignatureOptions(SM) PPO plans, PacifiCare SignatureFreedom(SM) Self Directed health plans and indemnity plans. Comprehensive prescription drug benefits and life insurance coverage are included. Dental and vision plans are also available.

In addition, PEAT members also have access to value-added PacifiCare programs such as HealthCredits(SM), a suite of services that provides consumers with tools designed to help them make better health care decisions as well as a rewards system for those who take active steps to improve their health.

"The Pacific Employers Alliance Trust is designed to empower small businesses in Washington to better leverage their collective purchasing power and provide more affordable, flexible health care coverage for their employees," said PEAT founder and trustee Lynn Withrow. "PEAT is member-governed, which will assist our employer members in proactively meeting their employees' benefit needs year after year."

According to data by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, small businesses led Washington State's economy in 2003, the most recent data available. Of the approximately 207,000 employer firms in Washington in 2003, more than 98 percent, or nearly 203,000, were small businesses. In addition, small-business income increased by more than 6 percent, from $16.5 billion in 2002 to $17.5 billion in 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"PacifiCare's partnership with the Pacific Employers Alliance Trust demonstrates our commitment to small businesses in Washington and our determination to enable employers of any size to access quality, affordable health care coverage from PacifiCare," said David Hansen, general manager of PacifiCare's Northwest Markets. "It is part of our pledge to customers that at PacifiCare, 'Caring is good. Doing something is better.'"

More information on the Pacific Employers Alliance Trust is available at 800-829-2925, or 800-922-1444 for Clark County.

PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with nearly 3.2 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. Specialty operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy benefit management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions. More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at pacificare.com.

"Caring is good. Doing something is better." is a service mark of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.

CONTACT: Tyler Mason, Media Relations of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.,+1-714-226-3530, tyler.mason@phs.com

Web site: http://www.pacificare.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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