/C O R R E C T I O N -- PacifiCare Health Systems Inc./

In the news release, PacifiCare (NYSE: PHS) Once Again Ranked One of 50 Best Companies for Latinas to Work for in the U.S. According to LATINA Style Magazine, issued Friday, Sept. 16, by PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. over PR Newswire, the first quote in the fifth paragraph should read: "PacifiCare's commitment to foster workplace diversity is an integral part of our brand pledge, 'Caring is good. Doing something is better,'" said Howard Phanstiel, PacifiCare's chairman and chief executive officer, rather than, "Howard Pastel" as incorrectly transmitted by PR Newswire. Complete, corrected release follows:





CYPRESS, Calif., Sept. 16  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. (NYSE:PHS) has earned a place on the eighth annual 2005 LATINA Style 50, a survey by LATINA Style Magazine of the 50 best companies for Latinas to work for in the United States.

The LATINA Style 50 is, according to the magazine, "the most respected source of employment and career information for Hispanic women in the nation." Companies that are considered for listing on the LATINA Style 50 are evaluated for their percentage of Latina employees and Latinas in senior and executive management positions.  Other criteria include the companies' benefits packages and availability of mentoring and leadership-training programs.

PacifiCare was one of 800 U.S. corporations that were evaluated by the magazine for selection to this year's list.  The article announcing the winners appears in the August 2005 issue.  This year marks PacifiCare's second consecutive appearance on the list.

The magazine will honor PacifiCare and the other LATINA Style 50 companies Feb. 3, 2006, during the LATINA Style's Best Practices in Diversity Conference in Washington, D.C., as well as an exclusive awards reception at the White House.

"PacifiCare's commitment to foster workplace diversity is an integral part of our brand pledge, 'Caring is good. Doing something is better,'" said Howard Phanstiel, PacifiCare's chairman and chief executive officer.  "We believe that a diverse work force is important in order to better reflect the communities we serve.  We are honored that LATINA Style Magazine has recognized our commitment."

The LATINA Style 50 award follows on the heels of PacifiCare being named to Hispanic magazine's 2005 Hispanic Magazine Corporate 100, which lists companies based on their recruitment efforts, diversity training, ethnic representation of its board members and minority business initiatives.

Latinas comprise more than three-quarters of PacifiCare's Hispanic employees and more than 16 percent of PacifiCare's total work force.

"These awards show that PacifiCare is a good place to work for our more than 1,800 Latino employees and that we can make a positive difference for our Latino members who want access to quality, affordable health care," said Russell Bennett, PacifiCare's vice president of Latino Health Solutions. "Today, Latinos comprise more than 20 percent of our total health plan membership; in California, more than 27 percent of our members are Latino.  We believe our diverse customers are best served by knowledgeable and experienced employees who understand their needs, and we feel we are taking an innovative approach in developing culturally sensitive and relevant consumer health services to improve the health and well-being of Latinos."

"Some of the companies on this year's LATINA Style 50 have also demonstrated a unique outreach to the Latino community, such as PacifiCare's bilingual health education programs and culturally focused materials to help Latinos and Latinas make better health and health insurance decisions," said Robert Bard, publisher of LATINA Style Magazine.

PacifiCare's Latino Health Solutions has developed far-reaching relationships with the Latino community and provides health care information and unique educational programs tailored to meet the health care needs of Latinos.  These include reader-friendly materials and brochures in Spanish and bilingual Web-based educational programs, as well as Spanish-language versions of PacifiCare's award-winning disease management and health improvement programs.  Also, PacifiCare's Spanish-language Web site, PacifiCare en Espanol (http://www.pacificarelatino.com/), is a unique online resource for health care information specifically tailored to address the health care concerns of PacifiCare's growing Spanish-speaking membership and the Latino community at large.

In addition, Latino Health Solutions, together with the PacifiCare Foundation, established the Latino Health Scholars program for Spanish-speaking bilingual and bicultural high-school students who want to pursue careers in the health care industry.  Since the Latino Health Scholars program was launched in 2003, PacifiCare has awarded $356,000 in scholarships to 155 deserving students.

PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with nearly 3.3 million health plan members and approximately 11.3 million specialty plan members nationwide.  PacifiCare offers individuals, employers and Medicare beneficiaries a variety of consumer-driven health care and life insurance products.  Specialty plan operations include behavioral health, dental and vision, and complete pharmacy benefit management through its wholly owned subsidiary, Prescription Solutions.  More information on PacifiCare Health Systems is available at http://www.pacificare.com/.

"Caring is good. Doing something is better." is a service mark of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. 

DATASOURCE: PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.



CONTACT:  Media Relations, Dan Miller of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc.,

[phone], 



Web site:  http://www.pacificare.com/

http://www.pacificarelatino.com/ 

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