American Healthways and CIGNA HealthCare Extend Relationship, Expand Services; New 5-Year Contract Reflects Continued Investment in Better Health Outcomes, Reduced Costs.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 2003

American Healthways (Nasdaq/NM:AMHC) and CIGNA HealthCare today announced an agreement to extend and expand their relationship, bringing a broader array of disease management and care enhancement services to CIGNA HealthCare customers.

The new agreement, retroactive to Jan. 1, 2003, consolidates existing multiple arrangements into one 5-year agreement. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and both companies said they will jointly explore opportunities to further expand their relationship.

AMHC will continue to support the CIGNA HealthCare award-winning Well Aware Program for Better Health(R) disease management programs, helping CIGNA HealthCare members to better manage diabetes, low back pain, asthma or cardiac problems. A program for members with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will be added fall 2003.

"Disease management is an important component of our medical management model," said W. Allen Schaffer, MD, Chief Medical Officer for CIGNA HealthCare. "Our continued relationship with American Healthways helps us to provide our customers with industry-leading programs that help improve health outcomes and reduce costs. American Healthways has performed well for CIGNA HealthCare since our relationship began six years ago. Their commitment to supporting our goal of helping our members to achieve better health has led us to create a broader relationship," Dr. Schaffer said.

Ben R. Leedle Jr., President and COO of American Healthways, said, "Disease management and care enhancement services represent the single best option for addressing the well-known gaps in care and quality that exist in the healthcare system today. The strategic commitment of CIGNA HealthCare to the broad-based implementation of disease management programs provides clear evidence that these programs - when properly designed, integrated, implemented and operated - improve health, improve member and employer satisfaction with the health care system and, as a result, reduce the cost of care."

CIGNA HealthCare, headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, provides medical benefits through managed care and indemnity health care plans to approximately 12.3 million people. CIGNA HealthCare refers to various operating subsidiaries of CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI). Products and services are provided by these operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA Corporation.

American Healthways (AMHC) is the nation's leading and largest provider of specialized, comprehensive disease management and care enhancement services to health plans, physicians, medical management organizations and hospitals. The Company's programs have been reviewed and approved for clinical excellence by Johns Hopkins and have been certified or accredited by the National Committee on Quality Assurance (NCQA), the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO), and the American Accreditation Healthcare Commission (URAC). American Healthways has contracts to provide disease and care management programs to 770,000 equivalent lives in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. The Company also operates diabetes management programs in hospitals nationwide. For more information visit www.americanhealthways.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based upon current expectations and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. In order for the Company to utilize the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, investors are hereby cautioned that these statements may be affected by the important factors as described in the Company's reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as by, among other factors, the Company's ability to implement the anticipated number of contracted lives within time frames contemplated by the Company and the ability to maintain the number of covered lives anticipated to be enrolled in the programs. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements.