UnitedHealthcare and BJC HealthCare Sign New Five-Year Agreement

Business Wire, Sept 24, 2007

Agreement Reaffirms Shared Commitment to Provide UnitedHealthcare Members Access to Quality Health Care

ST. LOUIS -- UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) company, and BJC HealthCare signed a new five-year agreement, effective Oct. 1, 2007, that provides UnitedHealthcare members with long-term continued access to BJC HealthCare facilities and BJC Medical Group physicians and health care providers in mid-Missouri, southern Illinois and St. Louis.

This new agreement covers all commercial and Medicare business and reaffirms UnitedHealthcare and BJC's shared focus on local health care issues and innovative solutions to deliver better health care outcomes and enhanced quality.

The new contract extends access to all BJC facilities including:

* Alton Memorial Hospital

* Barnes-Jewish Hospital

* Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital

* Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital

* Boone Hospital Center

* Christian Hospital

* Clay County Hospital

* Missouri Baptist Hospital-Sullivan

* Missouri Baptist Medical Center

* Parkland Health Center

* Progress West HealthCare Center

* Rehabilitation Institute of St. Louis

* St. Louis Children's Hospital

"This long-term extension of our relationship with BJC HealthCare reinforces our commitment to working together to provide access to quality health care services," said Steve Walli, president and CEO of UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest. "Our ongoing project to streamline administrative processes, utilizing Six Sigma methodology, we believe will help lower health care costs for our members and make a positive impact in the care our members receive. We are pleased to extend this relationship for the benefit of our mutual customers."

"BJC HealthCare is committed to serving the needs of patients and their families, and we consistently work to increase access to and decrease the costs of health care," said Steven Lipstein, president and CEO of BJC HealthCare. "We are pleased to be working constructively with UnitedHealthcare on a range of important initiatives, including improving administrative effectiveness and simplicity, to drive affordability. We are confident that our new agreement and ongoing collaboration with UnitedHealthcare will ensure patients have continued access to the high-quality care provided by our hospitals and service organizations."

About BJC HealthCare

BJC HealthCare (www.bjc.org) is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare organizations in the United States, delivering services to residents primarily in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions. BJC serves urban, suburban and rural communities and includes 13 hospitals and multiple community health locations. Services include inpatient and outpatient care, primary care, community health and wellness, workplace health, home health, community mental health, rehabilitation, long-term care and hospice.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 26 million individual consumers, contracting directly with more than 535,000 physicians and care professionals and 4,700 hospitals nationwide to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.