American Specialty Health Garners Five Awards from Health Care Communicators of San Diego

San Diego, CA (March 2, 2004) -- American Specialty Health, Incorporated (ASH) was recently honored with three Gold and two Silver awards from the Health Care Communicators of San Diego. The annual Finest Awards recognizes excellence in communications through a variety of media in the health care industry.

ASH subsidiary, Healthyroads, Inc., won the Gold Award in the category of Special Publications for its Healthyroads for Living Premium Weight Management Module. In their evaluations, the judges called the module "commendable," "an excellent production," and "very impressive." The Premium Weight Management Module includes an educational guidebook and compact disc and is specifically designed for health plan members who want to modify their weight.

The Healthyroads for Living program was designed to help individuals improve their overall health by preventing and managing disease. Healthyroads for Living empowers members to adopt healthier lifestyle habits such as improved nutrition, increased physical activity, and the use of relaxation skills to help manage stress.

The Finest Awards, which were presented at an annual dinner held in San Diego’s historic Balboa Park, also recognized ASH entries in the following categories:

• Gold Award, E-Zines and Internet Newsletter category: ASH News Flash


• Gold Award, Publications Collateral Design category: Health Net of Oregon health education brochure


• Silver Award, Direct Mail category: ASH Provider Recruitment brochures


• Silver Award, Exhibits: ASH Trade Show Exhibit

ASH News Flash is a monthly e-newsletter and Web site that provides users with breaking news in complementary health, offering a mix of industry and clinical news articles, as well as the latest corporate news from ASH.

"We are tremendously proud of all of our award winners," said George DeVries, chairman, president, and CEO of ASH. "We strongly support the goals of the Health Care Communicators of San Diego and are grateful for their recognition of our Healthyroads for Living module and our print, display, and Internet communications among the industry’s best."

The Finest Awards are handed out by the Health Care Communicators of San Diego each year to recognize the best work in the field of health care communications. Entries included public relations campaigns, feature and marketing writing, advertising, trade show exhibits, special events, and others. A rotating group of independent, out-of-state organizations reviews the entries each year.

American Specialty Health, Incorporated and its subsidiaries are the nation's leading specialty benefits organization for complementary health care— providing benefit, health education, and affinity network programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide. Its subsidiary American Specialty Health Plans of California, Inc., which operates in California, is the nation’s first and largest specialty health plan for chiropractic and acupuncture. Based in San Diego, American Specialty Health has over 500 employees and more than 9 million members in benefit programs nationwide. For more information about American Specialty Health, visit its Web site at www.ashcompanies.com.