Oregon Employers Now Have Greater Options for Purchasing Popular Complementary Health Care Benefits

San Diego, CA (October 20, 2003) -- Oregon employers now have greater options for purchasing popular complementary health care benefits such as acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic and manual manipulation, dietetic counseling, naturopathy, and vitamin and mineral products.

These innovative benefit programs are accessible to Oregon businesses with 51 or more employees through American Specialty Health Insurance Company (ASH Insurance), a subsidiary of American Specialty Health, Incorporated (ASH). ASH is the nation's largest complementary health care organization–covering over 9 million members in benefit programs nationwide. ASH affiliates currently administer chiropractic benefits for several Oregon health plans covering close to 200,000 members throughout the state.

"Interest in complementary health care is at an all-time high," said George DeVries, president and chief executive officer of ASH. "Oregon employers now have the flexibility to directly purchase complementary benefits for their employees in the same way that they provide dental and vision coverage."

ASH Insurance offers direct access to an Oregon network of more than 900 contracted providers–with no medical referral required. Furthermore, when insureds are traveling, they have in-network access to a national provider network of more than 22,000 contracted acupuncturists, chiropractors, dietitians, massage therapists, medical doctors, naturopathic doctors, and osteopathic physicians. In many cases, ASH Insurance may also cover employees residing in other states.

In-network benefits range from 20, 30, 40, 50, or unlimited visits per year with copayments of $0, $5, $10, $15 or $20 per visit, depending upon plan design. Out-of-network benefits provide reimbursement of 50 percent of billed charges–up to $30 per visit, up to 10 visits per year.

The vitamin and mineral benefit offered by ASH Insurance is provided by its affiliate Healthyroads, Inc. and can be accessed either online or by fax, mail, or phone. The program includes a $50 or $100 annual benefit with a coinsurance payment of 20 percent or 50 percent of the discounted member price. The benefit provides access to a variety of vitamins and minerals produced by leading manufacturers such as Nature's Way. There is no charge for shipping and out-of-network benefits are not available. Healthyroads.com was recently awarded Best E-Commerce Site by the World Wide Web Health Awards Program. It is also accredited by URAC and is Verisign secure.

ASH Insurance offers a broad range of benefit options, combinations, and plans to Oregon employers and their employees. For maximum flexibility, employers may choose from 60 different combinations of complementary health care benefits. For instance, employers may choose a combination of any two, three, four, five, or all six of the following benefit options:

• Acupuncture services
• Chiropractic & manual manipulation services
• Dietetic counseling services
• Massage therapy services
• Naturopathy services
• Vitamin & mineral products

"A recent study by the Society for Human Resource Management indicates that in spite of double-digit annual increases in medical premiums, complementary and alternative health care benefits are one of the few benefits that employer groups are continuing to add to their employee benefit plans," says DeVries. "This demonstrates that despite a challenging economy, there is significant interest in these types of benefits from employe