American Specialty Health's VP of Government Relations, Antonio Martinez II, Elected VP of the National Foundation of Women Legislators

SAN DIEGO, CA (October 17, 2001) -- Antonio C. Martinez II, Vice President of Government Relations and Consumer Health Care Products legal counsel at American Specialty Health Inc., has been elected as Vice President of the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL) beginning October 1, 2001 as a private sector officer of the organization. He was nominated by State Representative Val Ogden from the state of Washington and was elected unanimously at the NFWL's annual Board meeting. Concurrently, he serves on NFWL's Board of Directors. Mr. Martinez is a highly regarded attorney and lobbyist in the fields of Food & Drug and Health Care law, and is a policy expert on complementary and alternative healthcare. American Specialty Health is the nation's largest specialty health care provider for complementary health care services.

"We are proud of Tony Martinez's opportunity to serve with an important organization that recognizes the significant role of health care and complementary health in public policy," said George DeVries, chairman, president and CEO of American Specialty Health.

"Health care is a top priority issue for women legislators. These women recognize and are very interested in the opportunities and benefits of complementary and alternative health care," said Robin Read, the NFWL's executive director. At the recent annual meeting of NFWL in Washington DC, the presentations on complementary and alternative healthcare were filled to capacity.

The NFWL is a national organization of elected women officials dedicated to the education and empowerment of women in office. American Specialty Health and its affiliates provide network access, affinity discount and benefit plan programs nationwide to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups and trust funds. Its comprehensive services include utilization management, quality management, member and provider services, claims and credentialing. Its affiliate American Specialty Health Plans® of California, Inc. (ASHP) is the nation's first and largest health plan for chiropractic and acupuncture services, operating in California.

American Specialty Health has been awarded full accreditation by the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission/URAC for the quality of its health care operations. American Specialty Health Plans and another affiliate, American Specialty Health Networks, have received accreditation for their chiropractic and acupuncture networks in each of the following five URAC programs: Health Utilization Management, Health Plan, Health Network with Credentialing, Workers' Compensation Utilization Management and Workers' Compensation Network. Based in San Diego, American Specialty Health has over 500 employees and covers more than 65 million members nationwide.