CareWise, Inc. Wins Humana Nurseline Contract; Total Membership Now Exceeds 8 Million.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BW HealthWire)--Dec. 4, 2001

CareWise, Inc., a SHPS, Incorporated owned and operated company, announced today that it has been selected by Humana, Inc. (NYSE: HUM) to provide demand management services to 2.7 million Humana members. The award-winning CareWise(R) demand management service gives Humana members 24-hour phone access to registered nurses who help callers with medical situations get answers to their questions and decide whether to seek medical care.

"We are building a strong partnership with Humana," said Craig S. Russell, President and CEO of CareWise, Inc. and Executive Vice President of SHPS. "We share Humana's goal of enhancing members' health and providing excellent customer service. CareWise's caller satisfaction is very high, with more than 95 percent rating their interaction with the nurse as valuable."

A growing number of companies like Humana are turning to CareWise products and services. CareWise's membership has tripled since May of this year, and the company currently is providing services to more than 8 million people worldwide. To help accommodate this growth, CareWise recently opened a call center operation in Louisville, Kentucky to augment its Seattle facility.

"Increasingly, enlightened health plans and companies understand that CareWise will contribute to member or employee satisfaction, help people manage complex and often costly diseases, and assist people in determining the most appropriate source of care, which often leads to savings in both productivity and healthcare," Russell said.

The full range of CareWise services includes a 24-hour nurseline, the CareWise Web site featuring unique navigational tools and staffed with on-line health information specialists to assist visitors, award-winning health information books and educational materials, and an audio library of health information.

Earlier this year, CareWise was acquired by SHPS, a Louisville, Kentucky based corporation. SHPS' President and CEO, David Garner, said, "Humana is a neighbor, and we couldn't be more pleased about having them as a client."

About Humana, Inc.

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the nation's largest publicly traded health services companies, with approximately 6.5 million medical members located primarily in 18 states and Puerto Rico. Humana offers coordinated health benefits coverage through a variety of plans - health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations and administrative service products - to employer groups and government-sponsored plans. For more information, visit the Humana Web site at http://www.humana.com.

About SHPS, Inc./CareWise, Inc.

A national outsourcing firm, SHPS, Inc. offers comprehensive HR and benefits administration and healthcare products and services to help employers, public sector enterprises, and health plans manage the administrative, clinical and financial aspects of benefits and healthcare delivery. CareWise, Inc., a SHPS Healthcare Services company, provides decision-support services that help people self-manage their health while lowering the cost of medical care and improving member satisfaction with their health plan. More than 8 million members worldwide receive CareWise, Inc.'s services.

SHPS' strategy offers mid-sized and large private and public-sector enterprises a single source for outsourcing all or parts of their benefits and health programs. SHPS relies on its experience, Internet technologies and client service centers to serve nearly 600 organizations, including more than 60 Fortune 500 Companies. SHPS employs 1,200 clinical professionals, employee benefits specialists and information technology experts in multiple facilities across the United States. For more information, visit the SHPS Web site at http://www.shps.net, or the CareWise, Inc. Web site at http://www.carewiseinc.com.