HispanicBusiness

CYPRESS, Calif., Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. , has earned a place on the 2004 Hispanic Magazine Corporate 100, an annual list recognizing companies nationwide that, according to the magazine, "have raised the bar when it comes to employing, working with and serving the burgeoning Hispanic population."

The article appears in the February 2004 issue.

The 2004 Hispanic Magazine Corporate 100 lists companies based on their recruitment efforts, diversity training, ethnic representation of its board members and minority business initiatives, according to Bridget McCrea, a contributing writer for the magazine.

"Also considered are the firm's funding efforts for scholarships, grants and organizations that help Latinos, and philanthropic donations targeting Hispanic communities," said McCrea.

"Our listing on the 2004 Hispanic Magazine Corporate 100 reinforces PacifiCare's commitment to serving the Latino community," said Russell Bennett, PacifiCare's vice president of Latino Health Solutions. "When we launched Latino Health Solutions in 2002, our primary goal was to build stronger ties with Latino members, physicians and organizations. Today, Latinos make up more than 20 percent of our total membership. The Corporate 100 listing reflects our tremendous progress in providing our Latino members better access to quality, affordable health care and making PacifiCare a better place to work for our more than 1,400 Latino employees. We are honored to receive recognition from Hispanic magazine."

Under the Latino Health Solutions aegis, PacifiCare initiated numerous health and consumer programs and services tailored to meet the unique health care needs of Latinos. PacifiCare's new Plan Prevencion SignatureFreedom health plan is the first-ever bilingual, English-Spanish, self-directed health plan that offers easier access to preventive-care services as well as affordable catastrophic coverage. Utilizing PacifiCare's PPO network, Plan Prevencion helps members more effectively track their health care spending by offering enrollees a PacifiCare-funded account from which they pay selected health care expenses.

Last spring, PacifiCare announced its Latino Health Scholars program. Designed to educate students about career opportunities for Hispanics and Latinos in the health care field, Latino Health Scholars provides scholarships for Spanish-speaking, bicultural high-school students interested in pursuing careers in the health care industry. In September 2003, the PacifiCare Foundation awarded $2,000 scholarships to 33 students in Arizona, California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Many of PacifiCare's Latino employees served on committees that selected the scholarship winners.

In November 2003, PacifiCare appointed Aida Alvarez to its board of directors. Alvarez was administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from 1997 to 2001, and was the first Hispanic woman, and the first person of Puerto Rican heritage, to serve as a member of the President's Cabinet. Under her direction, the SBA produced a record $61.5 billion in loans and venture capital for small businesses, tripled SBA loans to women-owned businesses and more than doubled SBA loans to minorities. During her tenure, the SBA became the No. 1 federal agency in the placement of women and minorities to top senior career positions.

PacifiCare's Spanish-language Web site, PacifiCare en Espanol ( http://www.pacificarelatino.com/ ), provides health information and education for the company's growing number of Spanish-speaking members as well as the Latino community worldwide. PacifiCare offers award-winning health improvement and disease management programs in Spanish such as Taking Charge of Diabetes, Taking Charge of Your Heart Health and StopSmoking.

PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with more than 3 million health plan members and approximately 9 million specialty plan members nationwide. PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products. Currently, more than 99 percent of PacifiCare's commercial health plan members are enrolled in plans that have received Excellent Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). PacifiCare's specialty operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy and medical management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions. More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at http://www.pacificare.com/ . PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc.

CONTACT: Dan Miller, Media Relations of PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc.,+1-714-226-3726

Web site: http://www.pacificare.com/http://www.pacificarelatino.com/