HealthGrades Appoints Steven Wood, Ph.D., as Executive Vice President; Former J.D. Power and Associates Healthcare Leader Joins Healthcare Ratings Company

Business Wire, July 10, 2006

GOLDEN, Colo. -- HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company, announced today that Steven Wood, Ph.D., formerly a senior vice president with J.D. Power and Associates and the general manager of its healthcare division, will be joining HealthGrades as executive vice president on July 10.

Dr. Wood will develop and bring to market new products for HealthGrades' three business units: its Provider Services group, which offers information and advisory services to hospitals; its Internet Business Group, which operates HealthGrades.com; and its Strategic Health Solutions group, which offers a suite of health-management tools for the employees and members of large corporations and health plans.

"At a time when consumerism is transforming the healthcare industry, Steve's singular combination of entrepreneurial creativity, deep healthcare experience and consumer insight will help HealthGrades in continuing its history of innovation and industry leadership," said Kerry Hicks, HealthGrades' CEO.

As an academic, an entrepreneur and as head of J.D. Power and Associates' healthcare division, Dr. Wood has been a thought leader in quantifying and analyzing the ways in which consumers interact with the healthcare system.

During Dr. Wood's leadership role with J.D. Power and Associates he built the healthcare division into a leading provider of consumer insight and strategy for pharmaceutical companies, hospital and health plans.

Dr. Wood is professor emeritus of marketing and formerly associate dean of graduate programs at the Arizona State University College of Business. He is a co-author of four books, has published in excess of 80 papers in scholarly and professional journals, and has given more than 200 presentations to various organizations.

About HealthGrades

Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq:HGRD) is the leading health care ratings company, providing quality ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals. HealthGrades' independent ratings and complete suite of health-management tools are relied upon by three million consumers each month as well as more than 125 of the nation's largest employers and health plans and more than 250 hospitals. More information on the company can be found at www.healthgrades.com.