June 5, 2001

PacifiCare Settles Claims Dispute

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Santa Ana, Calif., reached a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) in a February review requesting corrective actions to pay doctor and hospital claims within 45 days of receipt, as required by California law.

The company has a current inventory of 7,000 claims in excess of 45 days, which represents around 1 percent of the 700,000 commercial HMO annual claims receipts in California.

Address: PacifiCare Health Systems, 3120 Lake Center Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92704; (800) 624-8822, (714) 952-1121, www.pacificare.com.

PacifiCare Health Systems and California Department Of Managed Health Care Reach Agreement On Claims Review

PR Newswire - March 01, 2001 19:19 SANTA ANA, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire/ --

• PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: PHSY) said it has reached a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care related to a February review requesting corrective actions to pay doctor and hospital claims within 45 days of receipt as required by California law.
• The company has taken many steps to increase its claims processing operations as its business model moves from capitation to shared risk contracts with doctors and hospitals.
• This has included upgrading claims systems, moving more of that process to facilities in Ireland and using third-party vendors to accommodate the anticipated workload. It also hired 72 new staff in California and Ireland for claims processing and payment during the first quarter of this year.
• Brad A. Bowlus, president and CEO of the company's Health Plans Division commented, "As Commissioner Daniel Zingale said, and we agree, 'timely and full payment to providers is a priority.' We will continue to improve our operations as planned and will provide regular updates as required."