Bugs of Summer - What Pennsylvania Parents and Kids Need to Know about Bites & Stings; Insects Abound in Warm and Damp Weather: HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance Offer Simple Tips to Keep Your Family Safe and Itch-Free.

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Have you ever been stung by a bee or hornet? How can your family avoid those nasty bites and stings? What are the best treatments and preventative measures for your family? HealthAmerica(R) (www.healthamerica.cvty.com) offers advice for managing the most familiar summer pests.

MOSQUITOES are the most prevalent and disrupting summer insects. Follow these simple steps to help keep them out of your fun:

--Stay indoors at dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active.

--Use screens on doors and windows to keep mosquitoes from entering your home.

--Wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants when you're outdoors.

--Use insect repellents. The most effective and long-lasting ones contain DEET (permethrin or N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide). Products with 10% to 30% DEET provide about 3 hours of protection. Experts suggest that it's acceptable to apply repellents with low concentrations of DEET to infants over 2 months old. Other guidelines cite that it's acceptable to use repellents containing DEET on children over 2 years of age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends repellents that contain a chemical called picaridin or the oil of lemon eucalyptus.

--Read and follow the directions on the label. Have adults apply to children. Do not apply repellent to your child's hands - children tend to put their hands in their eyes and mouth.

--Re-apply as necessary. Swimming and sweating will require re-applications.

--Eliminate mosquito-breeding areas by removing standing water from gutters, old tires, wading pools, tarps, potted plants, and other outside buckets and pails. Also, be sure the water in pet dishes and birdbaths is changed regularly.

BEES & WASPS always seem to find the picnic as they buzz around in search of something sweet. To avoid stings, stay away from bee or wasp nests, keep sweet-smelling food or drink covered when you're eating outdoors, and don't swat at flying insects. It can irritate them, causing them to sting.

If you or your child is stung, follow these steps:

--Remove the stinger. A bee will leave behind a stinger attached to a venom sac. Try to remove it as quickly as possible by gently scraping it out in a sideways motion with a blunt-edged object, such as a credit card or a dull knife.

--Wash the area carefully with soap and water 2 to 3 times a day until the skin is healed.

--Apply a cold pack, or a cold, wet washcloth for a few minutes.

--Give acetaminophen (such as Tylenol) for pain.

"Playing outside is a lot of fun - bugs or no bugs. Fortunately, most bites and stings are relatively harmless," says Dr. Joshua Bennett, vice president of quality and cost management at HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance. "The two greatest risks from most insect stings and bites are an allergic reaction, which rarely may be fatal, and infection - also rare but with potentially serious consequences. Education and supervision are the best preventive measures that parents can take toward protecting their child."

For more information on bug bites and related illnesses for parents, kids, and teens visit www.healthamerica.cvty.com.

About HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance

HealthAmerica Pennsylvania, Inc., has a 30-year record of providing health care benefits. HealthAmerica, HealthAssurance Pennsylvania, Inc., and affiliate companies cover over 720,000 members in Pennsylvania and Ohio through PPO, POS, HMO, Medicaid, and Medicare Advantage plans. In addition, HealthAmerica offers a product for individuals and families who are not eligible for employer-sponsored health care benefits, Medicare, or Medicaid, called HealthAmericaOne. HealthAmerica earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for its HMO plan and HealthAssurance earned an "Excellent" Accreditation for the HealthAssurance POS by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, an independent, non-profit organization dedicated to measuring the quality of America's health care. With corporate offices in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance provide managed health care products and services to over 12,000 employers in Pennsylvania and Ohio. HealthAmerica and its affiliates employ over 1,500 people in Pennsylvania. For more information, visit HealthAmerica's website at www.healthamerica.cvty.com.

HealthAmerica and HealthAssurance are subsidiaries of Coventry Health Care, Inc. (NYSE, CVH), a national managed health care company based in Bethesda, Maryland. Coventry Health Care, Inc. provides a full range of risk and fee-based managed care products and services, including HMO, PPO, POS, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Workers' Compensation and Network Rental to a broad cross section of employer and government-funded groups, government agencies, and other insurance carriers and administrators in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. More information is available on the Internet at www.cvty.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, relating to future events or future financial performance. Actual performance may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties, including those described in Coventry Health Care, Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, as filed with the SEC.