Aetna and Priority Healthcare Announce Location of New Pharmacy Partnership.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Aetna (NYSE:AET) and Priority Healthcare Corporation (Nasdaq:PHCC) today announced they will build their new, jointly owned Aetna Specialty Pharmacy business in Orlando, Florida.

Aetna Specialty Pharmacy will lease a 63,000 square-foot distribution center in the Sunport Center complex just west of Orlando International Airport. The facility will be a fully operational specialty pharmacy with patient support, pharmacy, nursing education, counseling, and distribution. It is on schedule to begin distributing specialty pharmaceuticals and biomedical therapies by the end of the first quarter in 2005. When fully operational the new business will have approximately 300 employees.

Aetna Specialty Pharmacy will be Aetna's exclusive preferred provider for specialty pharmacy and biomedical distribution services. The partnership between Aetna and Priority Healthcare, a leading provider of national specialty pharmacy services, was announced last August. Aetna is paying for initial development costs and inventory, while Priority Healthcare is contributing its personnel, clinical programs, specialty pharmacy expertise and proprietary technology.

"Aetna Specialty Pharmacy will expand our pharmacy benefit management capacity, improve service and quality of care, and help us manage the fastest growing facet of pharmacy costs," said Eric Elliott, head of Aetna Pharmacy Management. "We are building a best in class specialty pharmacy platform to leverage buying power, deliver clinical program management and focus on coordinating service with physicians. This will greatly benefit our members."

Aetna currently spends more than $1 billion annually on specialty pharmaceuticals, an area with a national growth rate in excess of 20 percent.

"We are pleased to build upon Priority's specialty pharmacy expertise to partner in the Aetna Specialty Pharmacy," said Steve Cosler, Priority Healthcare president and CEO. "Aetna has been a leader in the management of biopharmaceutical therapies and a valued partner for Priority Healthcare for over five years. The relationship between Priority and Aetna is a longstanding one based upon integrity, mutual respect and demonstrated success in partnering to deliver value to Aetna members."

As one of the nation's leading providers of health care, dental, pharmacy, group life, disability and long-term care benefits, Aetna puts information and helpful resources to work for its approximately 13.4 million medical members, 11.4 million dental members, 8.1 million pharmacy members and 12.6 million group insurance members to help them make better informed decisions about their health care and protect their finances against health-related risks. Aetna provides easy access to cost-effective health care through a nationwide network of more than 633,000 health care professionals, including over 377,000 primary care and specialist doctors and 3,866 hospitals. For more information, please visit www.aetna.com. (Figures as of June 30, 2004)

Priority Healthcare Corporation is a national specialty pharmacy and distributor that provides biopharmaceuticals, complex therapies, and related disease treatment services. Priority Healthcare provides comprehensive programs for patients, payors, physicians, and pharmaceutical manufacturers for a growing number of disease states including cancer, hepatitis C, respiratory and pulmonary conditions, infertility, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, multiple sclerosis, and macular degeneration. For more information, please visit www.priorityhealthcare.com.