HMSA MEMBERS TO GET DISCOUNTS ON ALTERNATIVE CARE

Hawaii (June 8, 1999)-- The Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA) today announced plans to offer discounts on alternative therapies to its 600,000 members starting July 1. The discount program is based on two distinct partnerships - Landmark Healthcare, Inc. will provide acupuncture and nutritional supplements and American Specialty Health Networks will provide massage therapy and fitness memberships.

The HMSA discount program is free to members, and it allows unlimited, direct access to practitioner networks and fitness facilities in Hawaii without requiring a referral from a personal care physician. American Specialty Health Networks and Landmark Healthcare, Inc. are both complementary care companies based in California.

"These unique partnerships will help HMSA meet growing consumer demand for integrating complementary alternative care with traditional medicine," said Cliff Cisco, HMSA senior vice president. "With Hawaii's diverse cultural heritage, HMSA's discount program seems to be a natural for many of our members."

Several studies over the past few years have demonstrated the increased use of complementary health care by consumers. In 1990, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study by Harvard's David Eisenberg, M.D., where 34 percent of respondents had used at least one complementary therapy in the past year. In 1998, Dr. Eisenberg did a follow-up study published by The Journal of the American Medical Association that showed an increase to 42.1 percent of respondents who used complementary therapies. Expenditures for complementary health care have grown from $13.7 billion nationally in 1990 to $21.2 billion in 1997, according to Dr. Eisenberg's studies.

"Health plans are beginning to realize the demand by consumers for alternative therapies such as acupuncture," said Marla Orth, Landmark chief executive officer. "Landmark is well positioned to facilitate this need with our new partner - HMSA."

HMSA is a nonprofit, mutual benefit association founded in Hawaii in 1938. It is a member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. HMSA is the largest and most experienced provider of health care coverage in the state. Nationally, HMSA and 50 other independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans provide worldwide coverage to nearly 72 million members.

American Specialty Health Networks, headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is the nation's largest managed care company for complementary health care, serving over 13 million members across the U.S. American Specialty Health Networks was the first chiropractic and acupuncture network to receive national accreditation from the American Accreditation Health Care Commission/URAC. For more information, visit any of the company Web sites at www.ASHN.com, www.buyhealthy.com or www.americanspecialtyhp.com.

Landmark Healthcare, Inc., headquartered in Sacramento, Calif., is a progressive alternative health care company serving more than 10 million members nationwide. It has a 13-year history in complementary alternative medicine programs via managed care and other innovative, transitional benefit designs. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.landmarkhealthcare.com.