NEWS  room 


News Release


SAFEGUARD HEALTH PLANS OF TEXAS AND HUMANADENTAL ENTER INTO STRATEGIC MARKETING AGREEMENT

HumanaDental to Distribute SafeGuard’s Dental HMO Products in Texas

ALISO VIEJO, California - May 28, 2003 - SafeGuard Health Enterprises, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SFGD), through its Texas dental health maintenance organizationsubsidiary, and HumanaDental, the dental insurance subsidiary of Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), have entered into a strategic marketing agreement effective June 1, 2003. Under the agreement, HumanaDental will distribute SafeGuard’s dental HMO products to employer groups throughout Texas, leveraging the sales resources of Humana and HumanaDental and their relationships with independent insurance agents and brokers. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Commenting on the agreement, James E. Buncher, president and chief executive officer of SafeGuardstated, "We are pleased to join forces with a company who, like SafeGuard, has a reputation for quality and service. This agreement is a win/win as it provides a new distribution channel for SafeGuard in Texas and HumanaDental is able to offer a dual choice option to its Texas clients by including SafeGuard dental HMO products. We look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship."

"It’s gratifying to work with a company that shares our high regard for customer service," said Jerry Ganoni, president of HumanaDental. "SafeGuard brings strong products, supported by a comprehensive dental HMO network in Texas, while HumanaDental has an effective sales and distribution channel. This allows HumanaDental to meet the employers’ needs with a complete product portfolio in Texas, including dental PPO, traditional indemnity and dental HMO plans."

About SafeGuard Health Enterprises, Inc.

SafeGuard Health Enterprises, Inc. is committed to the dental and vision business, with nearly 30 years experience. The Company provides dental HMO, PPO, indemnity and ASO products as well as vision benefit plans to over 825,000 members primarily in California, Florida and Texas. For more information, visit SafeGuard’s Web site at www.safeguard.net.

About HumanaDental

HumanaDental, based near Green Bay, Wis., offers dental coverage for individuals and groups through a variety of plans, including dental health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations, traditional and self-funded products. HumanaDental Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Humana Inc. More information on HumanaDental is available online at www.humanadental.com.

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the nation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, with approximately 6.6 million medical members located primarily in 18 states and Puerto Rico. Humana offers coordinated health insurance coverage and related services through traditional and Internet based plans – to employer groups, government-sponsored plans, and individuals. More information regarding Humana is available via the Internet at www.humana.com, including on-line:

  • Copies of annual reports to stockholders;
  • Copies of Securities and Exchange Commission filings;
  • Copy of most recent investor presentation;
  • Copies of quarterly earnings press releases;
  • Audio archive of the most recent earnings release conference call;
  • Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates, related conference call access number, and planned participation in investor conferences).

SafeGuard notes that statements contained in this news release that are not based on historical facts are forward-looking statements, and as such, are subject to uncertainties and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied by such statements. These risks, contingencies and uncertainties, many of which are beyond SafeGuard’s control, include those risk factors that are set forth in SafeGuard’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2003, and the Company's Reports on Form 8K dated as of February 14, 2003, April 3, 2003, April 25, 2003, and May 5, 2003, on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:

Mark Mathis
Humana Corporate Communications
VOICE: (920) 337-5354
EMAIL: mmathis@humana.com

James E. Buncher
SafeGuard Health Enterprises, Inc.
President and Chief Executive Officer
VOICE: (949) 425-4300