SmartAssurance is an enhancement to Humana’s successful Smart family of consumer-engagement health plans and is based on proven results showing that by engaging consumers, SmartSuite (the most popular Smart plan) can appreciably reduce employer health costs on a sustainable basis. SmartSuite is unique in offering a broad spectrum of plan choices - from traditional HMOs and PPOs to new, low-premium CoverageFirst plans – along with a robust menu of consumer-focused tools, education and programs.

Smart products have been sold to more than 145 groups around the country, representing 225,000 employees and their families, since they were launched in 2001. For Smart groups with claims data mature enough to be actuarially reliable, the average annualized claims cost increase has been in the mid-single digits – about half the rate of health care inflation.

"Our innovative Smart plans have proven successful in reducing costs and offering members a better health plan experience," said Michael B. McCallister, president and chief executive officer of Humana. "A growing body of evidence is proving that consumer engagement is the way to solve the employer's cost dilemma, while at the same time empowering employees to choose and use their benefits with confidence. Now we're taking it to the next level by giving employers the peace of mind that comes with the ability to control the most out-of-control portion of their overhead."

SmartAssurance is predicated on taking maximum advantage of the Smart products' "process-around-product" approach to health benefits. To be eligible for the second-year rate cap, employers agree to use such industry-leading tools as Humana's PlanWizard, an online plan-selection enabler; PlanProfessor, a year-round employee education tool; and e-enrollment at the beginning of each plan year.

"By choosing a health plan that provides actionable information and guidance throughout the plan year, employees are able to transform themselves from passive health-care users into active health-care consumers," McCallister said. "In so doing, they start for the first time making informed health spending decisions in their own economic self-interest, the same way they do in other aspects of their purchasing lives."

McCallister added that as a consequence of such informed decision-making, members find ways to drive waste out of the health care system, creating "room" for saving money without old-style cost shifting. The Midwest Business Group on Health has estimated that waste - overuse, underuse and inappropriate use of health care resources - is responsible for 30 percent of the $1.7 trillion spent annually in the U.S. on health.

To treat all employees within an employer group equally, the SmartSuite program is sold as a single-source solution and is not available to employers who want to offer benefits from multiple health plans. While SmartSuite is available to employers with 100 or more employees, a SmartAssurance participant must have at least 500 employees to be eligible for the program.

About Humana

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville,Kentucky, is one of the nation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, with approximately 7 million medical members located primarily in 19 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 copies of:

• Annual report to stockholders;
• Securities and Exchange Commission filings;
• Most recent investor conference presentation;
• Quarterly earnings press releases;
• Audio archive of most recent earnings release conference call;
• Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates, times, and access number, as well as planned participation in investor conferences);
• Corporate Governance information.