Optate Appoints Dexter Shurney, M.D. as Chief Science Officer; Dr. Shurney to Leverage Deep Medical, Business, and Public Health Experience to Enhance Optate Solution.

Business Editors

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 25, 2002

Optate, Inc., the best-of-breed leader in providing employee decision support solutions in e-Health, today announced the appointment of Dexter W. Shurney, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., as the company's chief science officer. In this role, Dr. Shurney will draw on his 15 years of medical, business, and public health expertise to direct the evolution of Optate's BENEFITcompanion(TM) product suite to provide enhanced profiling of the clinical and financial needs of consumers. These profiles will enable employers to design and implement more effective and cost-efficient benefits plans that manage employee health care demands. In addition, Dr. Shurney will be involved in augmenting BENEFITcompanion's ability to provide employees with personalized and tailored health care information to elicit healthy behavior change.

Dr. Shurney is the former vice president of medical affairs and corporate medical director for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM). During his 13 years at BCBSM, Dr. Shurney was responsible for developing corporate medical policies that ensured the highest clinical quality and financial success for organizations. While at BCBSM, Shurney oversaw the Corporate Center for Health Care Quality, which is responsible for population-based studies and the analysis of data and trends related to health status and quality.

Dr. Shurney is a member of the Medical Affairs Panel of the International Federation of Health Funds, which shares information and expertise on global health care partnerships and strategies. He is the editor of the Journal of Managed Care Medicine, a publication of the National Association of Managed Care Physicians. Dr. Shurney is a member of the American College of Medical Quality and serves as the College's delegate to the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. He received a doctor of medicine degree from the Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, D.C., a master's degree in public health with a specialization in preventive medicine from the University of Wisconsin Medical College/School of Public Health, and a master's degree in business administration, with a concentration in finance, from the University of Detroit Mercy.

About Optate

Optate is the best-of-breed leader in providing employee decision support solutions in e-Health. Optate's product, BENEFITcompanion, enables the "democratization of health care" and is unique in the industry because of its comprehensive consumer-driven tools, designed to give employees maximum flexibility in how they evaluate and choose their health plans. A variety of mid- to large-sized organizations, including Delta Air Lines, DaimlerChrysler, Ford Motor Company, and AAA of Michigan, rely on Optate to help them create a healthier, more informed, and productive workforce while reducing overall administrative and benefits costs. More information on Optate can be found at www.optate.com.