IHRSA Awards American Specialty Health its First-Ever Designation as an "IHRSA Model Fitness Benefit Program"

San Diego, (March 4, 2003) -- The International Health Racquet and Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) announced today that it has awarded American Specialty Health its first-ever designation as a "IHRSA Model Fitness Benefit Program." This new designation recognizes those health plans and/or insurance carriers that meet specific criteria in offering benefit plans for fitness club memberships.

IHRSA is a nonprofit association dedicated to the growth, protection, and promotion of the health club industry, and represents more than 6,500 clubs worldwide. IHRSA is an international leader in health club industry education, research, and advocacy.

American Specialty Health is the nation's leading specialty benefits company for complementary health care. In 2002, American Specialty introduced a fitness club benefit to provide participating health plan members affordable access to a network of high-quality fitness clubs in their community. PacifiCare became the first health plan to introduce this fitness club benefit through its Healthy Renewal Pass program last fall. PacifiCare is offering Healthy Renewal Pass in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

"Clinical research has repeatedly shown that individuals with certain medical conditions benefit greatly from a routine exercise program under the supervision of their physician," said John McCarthy, IHRSA Executive Director. "In addition, healthy individuals will maintain improved levels of health and potentially prevent the onset of certain chronic diseases through routine exercise. That is why it is so important that insurance plans and other employer-sponsored benefit plans recognize this and include fitness club membership into their benefits design."

In order to be designated an "IHRSA Model Fitness Benefit Program," an insurance company or health plan must offer a fitness club benefit plan to all or part of their membership. This plan must include year-round coverage and the insurance carrier or health plan must pay for at least half of the cost of the fitness club membership. The fitness club benefit must provide access to a basic range of services including cardiovascular equipment, resistance or strength equipment, instructor-led classes where there is normally no fee and locker rooms if offered by the fitness club. Additional services may be covered by the organization or available as a buy-up on the part of the member.

"The health risk posed by physical inactivity is almost as high as risk factors such as cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol," said Dr. Douglas Metz, American Specialty Health's Chief Health Services Officer. "Exercise is instrumental in achieving a healthy lifestyle yet many people are inactive due to lack of time and access to quality facilities. While it's up to each individual to make the time, we can do our part by offering affordable access to convenient and comfortable fitness clubs nationwide."

With American Specialty Health's Fitness Club Benefit, participating health plan members have access to a network of contracted fitness clubs. All health clubs in the network are required to meet the Health and Safety Standards established by both the IHRSA as well as the American College of Sports Medicine.

The designation by IHRSA is the latest in a long line of such distinctions for American Specialty Health. In recent years, the company has not only been awarded full URAC accreditation for the quality of its health care operation, but has received accreditation for its chiropractic and acupuncture networks in each of the five URA