American Specialty Health Garners Five National Awards in the World Wide Web Health Awards Competition.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2002

American Specialty Health Inc., the nation's leading specialty benefits company focused on complementary health care, has won five awards in the prestigious World Wide Web Health Awards competition.

Sponsored by the Health Information Resource Center, these honors establish a "seal of quality" for consumer health information published on the Internet.

Three of the awards earned by American Specialty Health went to www.healthyroads.com -- an e-commerce and Internet resource site that includes health and wellness products, educational resources and a national complementary health care provider directory. The World Wide Web Health Awards honored Healthyroads, an affiliate of American Specialty Health, with a silver award for Advertising/Marketing Education, and bronze and merit awards for Health Promotion/Disease & Prevention Information Education. This is the latest in a long line of accolades for healthyroads.com which late last year was one of the first 13 health care Web sites to receive accreditation from URAC, the nation's leader in the accreditation of health and managed care organizations. Healthyroads.com also was one of the first companies to participate in the Trust-E Ehealth Seal Program.

Two other awards in the World Wide Web's semiannual competition went to www.ASHcompanies.com. That site received a bronze award for Advertising/Marketing to the Business & Private Sectors and a merit award for Advertising/Marketing Education.

Launched in April, www.ASHcompanies.com is the organization's first all-inclusive corporate Web site. From the site, visitors can quickly find information on the company's products, services and latest news, plus background information on its history, vision and leadership team. Through separate easy-to-navigate links, visitors immediately access information specific to their needs or connect to one or more of American Specialty Health's other award-winning Web sites including ASHplans.com, ASHnetworks.com and Healthyroads.com.

"The various Web sites we've created at American Specialty Health all focus on making it easier for our customers to make intelligent health care and lifestyle decisions," said George DeVries, chairman and CEO of American Specialty Health. "The more information people have at their ready disposal, the more they are empowered to do what's right for themselves and their families. We are extremely proud that the World Wide Web Awards have recognized our commitment in this area and have honored us with five awards for our efforts."

The World Wide Web Health Awards evaluate Web sites in four classes: health promotion/disease and injury prevention information, patient education information, advertising/marketing information and miscellaneous/professional for both consumer and professional audiences. Organizations including managed care systems, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, government agencies and allied health professional compete for these prestigious awards.

Based in San Diego, American Specialty Health and its affiliates provide specialty benefit plans, educational programs and affinity discount programs nationwide to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, trust funds and consumers. Its services include quality management, member and provider services, claims administration, clinical services management and credentialing. Its affiliate American Specialty Health Plans(R) of California Inc. (ASHP) is the nation's first and largest specialty health plan for chiropractic and acupuncture services, operating in California.

American Specialty Health has over 480 employees and covers more than 9 million members in benefit programs and over 60 million members in affinity and discount programs nationwide. In recent years, the company has also been awarded full URAC accreditation for the quality of its health care operations. American Specialty Health Networks has received accreditation for its chiropractic and acupuncture networks in each of the following five URAC programs: Health Utilization Management, Health Plan, Health Network with Credentialing, Workers' Compensation Utilization Management, and Workers' Compensation Network. In addition, ASHN has earned URAC accreditation for its massage therapy, dietetics and naturopathy programs.