HealthMarkets Brings Price Transparency To Health Insurance In Georgia

CareOne Offers Unrivaled Price and Quality Information for Individual Market

North Richland Hills, Texas – January 8, 2007 – HealthMarkets, Inc., (http://www.healthmarkets.com) a leading provider of affordable health and life insurance to individuals, the self-employed and small businesses, announced today that it is introducing new consumer guided health insurance products in Georgia, through its indirect subsidiary The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, that include the company's industry-leading Web based price and quality transparency tools.

At a time of rising health care prices, the MEGA's CareOne Select, plans offer a new approach to health care, enabling consumers to better understand the likely cost of health care services before receiving them. The plans are geared for people who pay 100 percent of their health insurance premiums because they buy as individuals, rather than as members of an employer-sponsored plan.

"No one would consider spending money on a car, computer or an appliance without having any idea of the cost," said Peter Gaillard, senior vice president of Product Development, HealthMarkets. "The CareOne Select plans and tools provide consumers with access to information that allows them to make more informed choices about health care and to better manage their out-of-pocket expenses."

With these plans, consumers have access to the company's price and quality transparency tools that provide relative cost information for more than 450,000 medical professionals, 4,000 hospitals and medical centers, and 26,000 other resources, such as labs, MRI centers, medical equipment providers and home health care centers. These tools enable consumers to estimate their out-of-pocket expenses relative to their specific plan benefits. HealthMarkets tools also provide relative cost information for more than 20,000 procedures and services, from a routine check-up to a consultation with a specialist to a surgical procedure.

CareOne Select plans are part of a suite of products offering consumers options regarding their health insurance plans. CareOne Plus plans offer a more traditional PPO-style plan. CareOne Value plans are designed to fit limited budgets.

"We have experienced positive adoption rate of the CareOne suite of products in several markets since its launch this year," said Gaillard. "We are confident that Georgia residents will benefit from the value these plans offer."

CareOne Select Plans with online transparency tools are currently available in eight states: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas. They are offered through The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of HealthMarkets, Inc.