St. Tammany Parish Hospital Strikes Deal to Care for Humana Insureds COVINGTON, La., Feb. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to a consistent call in the community for services at its facilities, St. Tammany Parish Hospital has reached an agreement with Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Inc. to deliver health care services to individuals and families enrolled in Humana's commercial medical plans and Humana Gold Plus plans (CMS Medicare Advantage programs). Under the participating provider agreement, Humana members on the Northshore will now have access to all St. Tammany Parish Hospital inpatient, outpatient and emergency services effective March 1. "We are excited and pleased to expand our services to the residents of St. Tammany Parish who have Humana insurance," said Patti Ellish, president and chief executive officer St. Tammany Parish Hospital. "We know that for some time these neighbors, friends and family have wanted to choose St. Tammany Parish for its cutting edge technology and stellar health care team. We are thrilled to reach this agreement that will open our doors to them." "The addition of St. Tammany Parish Hospital is an important step in providing local employers and our health plan members access to a broad network of hospitals and physicians in St. Tammany Parish," said Hassan Rifaat, M.D., president of Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Inc. "The expansion of Humana's statewide participating hospital and physician network is a key to Humana's commitment to provide affordable health benefits to small- and mid-size employers currently facing double digit increases in health benefit costs. We are proud that members of Humana can now access this respected hospital." "To complement the provider network that Humana Medicare members value today, we are delighted that St. Tammany Parish Hospital has joined our participating provider network," said George Renaudin, president of Senior Products for Humana in Louisiana. "I am particularly pleased that St. Tammany Parish Hospital has decided to participate in all of our senior product offerings including our Medicare HMO and our newly introduced Medicare PPO. With the addition of St. Tammany Parish Hospital we now have the most comprehensive provider network of any MedicareAdvantage plan in St. Tammany Parish." The addition of St. Tammany Parish Hospital further strengthens Humana statewide medical provider network that now offers members a choice of 70 participating hospital providers and more than 7,000 physicians throughout Louisiana. About St. Tammany Parish Hospital St. Tammany Parish Hospital is a comprehensive healthcare organization dedicated to providing superior patient care and improving clinical outcomes with emphasis on wellness, preventive care and disease management. ( http://www.stph.org/ and http://www.sthfoundation.org/ ) About Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Inc. Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana, Inc. is one of the largest health benefit plans in the New Orleans market and the third largest in the state of Louisiana with approximately 150,000 commercial medical members and approximately 35,000 members in the MedicareAdvantage program. Humana Health Benefit Plan of Louisiana Inc. is the only health plan in Louisiana to be awarded the Excellent Accreditation from NCQA twice in a row. "Excellent" is the highest accreditation awarded by NCQA, an independent, not- for-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America's health care. About Humana Inc. Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the nation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, with approximately 7 million medical members located primarily in 15 states and Puerto Rico. Humana offers a diversified portfolio of health insurance products and related services - through traditional and consumer-choice plans - to employer groups, government-sponsored plans, and individuals. Over its 44-year history, Humana has consistently seized opportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is a leader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lower costs and a better health plan experience throughout its diversified customer portfolio. More information regarding Humana is available to investors via the Investor Relations page of the company's web site at http://www.humana.com/ , including copies of: - Annual report to stockholders; - Securities and Exchange Commission filings; - Most recent investor conference presentation; - Quarterly earnings press releases (including detailed description of unusual items, where applicable); - Audio archive of most recent earnings release conference call; - Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates, times, and access number, as well as planned interaction with institutional investors); - Corporate Governance Information. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030425/HUMANALOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Humana Inc. CONTACT: Ross McLerran of Humana Corporate Communications, +1-504-219-5101, or ; or Melissa Hodgson of St. Tammany Parish Hospital, +1-985-898-4131, or +1-985-845-9223, or Web site: http://www.humana.com/ http://www.stph.org/ http://www.sthfoundation.org/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/423125.html

Copyright