Nationwide Better Health Receives URAC Full Disease Management Accreditation for Disease and Maternity Management Offerings.

Accreditation Underscores Commitment to Creating Best-In-Class Programs

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Nationwide Better Health(SM) has earned Full Disease Management Accreditation for its disease and maternity management offerings from URAC, an independent, non-profit Washington, D.C.-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry. URAC's Full Disease Management Accreditation, a nationally-recognized symbol of excellence, underscores Nationwide Better Health's commitment to integrating disease and maternity management with its health and productivity management programs to lower employers' health care spend and create a healthier workforce.

The accreditation covers Nationwide Better Health's offerings that target the following conditions:

* Asthma

* Congestive heart failure (CHF)

* Coronary artery disease (CAD)

* Diabetes

* Depression

* Low back pain

* Maternity

"Receiving the Full Disease Management Accreditation for its disease and maternity management programs demonstrates Nationwide Better Health's true commitment to quality health care," said Alan P. Spielman, URAC president and CEO. "Quality health care is crucial to our nation's welfare and it's important to have organizations, such as Nationwide Better Health, that are willing to measure themselves against national standards." URAC standards are developed by a committee of experts representing diverse interests in the health care community: providers, health care organizations, insurers, and the public interest.

Nationwide Better Health's disease management program helps improve the health and well-being of the 10 to 20 percent of employees and their dependents that are classified as having chronic health conditions. Those same individuals also account for nearly 60 percent of their companies' health care costs annually, according to John Hopkins University. Nationwide Better Health's maternity management program helps employees, starting with their first trimester, have healthy, full-term deliveries.

"URAC's accreditation affirms our commitment to bettering the lives of employees through our disease and maternity management programs," said Holly Snyder, president of Nationwide Better Health. "Using the expertise of our nurse health coaches, along with our focus on education, we're able to ensure that every individual receives the best care available to better manage their condition and improve their overall health and well-being."

Nationwide Better Health provides individualized attention to help employees manage their chronic conditions. Dedicated health coaches provide confidential support and educational resources and tools to each employee enrolled in a customized treatment program, administrated via telephonic coaching. Upon graduation, employees continue to receive periodic support and care from Nationwide Better Health's clinical team of medical professionals.

Follow-up studies of employees in Nationwide Better Health's disease management program demonstrated that more than 98 percent of those enrolled comply with their physicians' treatment plans. Maternity program participants reduced their average length of stay in neonatal intensive care units by 9.6 percent to 16.1 days (national average is 17.8 days), resulting in savings of around $18,377 per stay. Employee satisfaction with all of Nationwide Better Health's programs is consistently greater than 95 percent and the company consistently reports meeting or exceeding financial return on investment performance guarantees.

Nationwide Better Health also provides disease management offerings with proven results for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol), hypertension (high blood pressure) and oncology. Offerings can also be customized based on participants' needs for conditions such as HIV/AIDS, GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) and multiple sclerosis.

Working in an integrated fashion, Nationwide Better Health's disease and maternity management services can be combined with its health and wellness, medical, disability and absence management offerings to effectively manage the restoration of employees' health and return to work.

Nationwide Better Health was first accredited for a selection of its disease management offerings in July 2002.

About URAC

URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, is a leader in promoting health care quality through accreditation and certification programs. URAC's standards keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a mark of distinction for health care organizations to demonstrate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in setting meaningful standards for the health care industry. For more information, visit www.urac.org.

About Nationwide Better Health

Nationwide Better Health(SM), a subsidiary of Nationwide([R]), is a leading provider of health and productivity management solutions aimed at lowering health care costs, increasing productivity and improving the quality of life for employers and their employees. Nationwide Better Health is the first company to truly integrate the best collection of health and productivity services available today, including health and wellness, and disease, disability, absence, medical and maternity management, while utilizing health assessments, work-site screenings, lifestyle health coaching services, online tools and customized communications strategies to obtain best-in-class results for improving health and productivity in the workplace. The company's offerings work together and independently to address both sides of the cost equation: increased efficiency of health and productivity programs and better employee health and well-being to reduce health care-related costs. For more information, call 866.404.6924 or visit: www.nwbetterhealth.com.

Nationwide, the Nationwide framemark and On Your Side are federally registered service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. Nationwide Better Health is a service mark of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.