Humana's New Real-Time Claims Adjudication Enables Faster Member Payment to Physicians and Calculates Member's Exact Portion of Bill

Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) today announced the launch of itsintegrated real-time claims adjudication process that will simplifyadministrative tasks and help physicians obtain payment for servicesfrom patients more quickly.

This solution comes as high-deductible health plans (HDHPs)continue to gain popularity with employers. Humana's real-time claimsadjudication integrates a number of partners and technologies thatsubmit claims and return the adjudicated claim by calculating theexact Dollar amount of most health plan members' financialresponsibility before the member leaves the doctor's office.

"This new capability is a much more realistic and efficientapproach than any other options that are available to physicianstoday," said Bruce Perkins, Humana's senior vice president fornational contracting. "It replaces other alternatives that involvetime-consuming administrative office hassles, such as duplicative,manual keying of claims information, with one-time entry, followed byan instant swipe of a debit card."

Those other alternatives require the patient information to bemanually keyed twice, first into a computer or card terminal - muchlike each grocery item's bar code would have to be keyed in -- theninto the practice management system. That method is oftentime-consuming and can lead to errors in data entry.

Currently, physicians send claims to Humana either electronicallyor through the mail. The claims process has to be "adjudicated," whichtakes into account the specific member's benefits and health plandiscounts. Once the claim is paid, doctors must then bill the memberfor the balance, resulting in delays of weeks or months before thephysician gets final payment from the member.

"Until now, the problem doctors had with using real-time claimsolutions has been the hassle factor," said Bruce J. Goodman, seniorvice president and chief service and information officer. "No onewants to enter the same information twice and into two differentsystems. But, by using Availity and partnering with practicemanagement and other vendors to form an integrated solution, Humanacan deliver the information they need and without any added steps.We're using our advanced technology to simplify the use ofhigh-deductible plans for members and removing worry about cash flowfor their providers of care."

For most of its members who hold the HumanaAccess Visa debit card,Humana's real-time claims adjudication offers a more simplifiedadministrative approach than available options today. Providers usingone of the participating practice management solutions enter the claimonce in the practice management system. The claim is submittedelectronically to Availity, LLC, Humana's primary gateway for thesubmission of claims. Availity immediately sends the claim to Humanafor adjudication. Humana's system returns the adjudicated claimthrough Availity to the provider's office. Within 30 seconds, theprovider's office knows exactly what to charge the Humana member. Itcan be instantly deducted from his/her health care savings account(HSA), health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) and/or flexible spendingaccount (FSA) using the HumanaAccess Visa card. Humana's portion ofthe claim is paid in the normal weekly cycle for electronic claimssubmission.

Humana is currently working with MacGregor Medical Center in SanAntonio, along with others, to provide the primary care practice withreal-time claims adjudication capabilities.

"There's no doubt that we have seen cash flow benefits," saidTerri Foose, CFO of MacGregor Medical Center. "But in addition tothat, we have seen improvements in patient satisfaction and in ourability to communicate with them. We are also realizing a savings inthe cost of sending statements, rebilling and talking to patientsabout charges over the telephone. It (Humana's real-time claimsadjudication solution) has made for a much more efficient operation."

As the adoption of HDHPs grows, providers have faced difficultywith knowing how much money to collect from patients at the time ofservice. Because these plans include deductibles, providers need toknow whether the patient has met his/her deductible in order to knowthe portion of the claim for which the member is responsible.

"The idea of real-time claims adjudication initiative is a step inthe right direction," said William Jessee, MD, FACMPE, president andchief executive officer of Medical Group Management Association(MGMA). "It is a start toward a much-needed solution to one of thegreatest problems faced by medical group practices' administrativecomplexity in the payment system. We support national, multi-payersolutions to this problem, and we appreciate Humana's leadership."

Throughout 2006, Humana will roll out real-time claimsadjudication to other providers across the country. To encourageacceptance of this opportunity, Humana is also working with ZirMed,Inc. to develop solutions that provide real-time claims adjudicationcapabilities without costly integration with the providers'information or practice management system.

About Humana

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Ky., is one of thenation's largest publicly traded health benefits companies, withapproximately 7 million medical members. Humana offers a diversifiedportfolio of health insurance products and related services - throughtraditional and consumer-choice plans - to employer groups,government-sponsored plans and individuals.

Over its 45-year history, Humana has consistently seizedopportunities to meet changing customer needs. Today, the company is aleader in consumer engagement, providing guidance that leads to lowercosts and a better health plan experience throughout its diversifiedcustomer portfolio.

More information regarding Humana is available to investors viathe Investor Relations page of the company's website atwww.humana.com, including copies of:

-- Annual report to stockholders

-- Securities and Exchange Commission filings

-- Most recent investor conference presentation

-- Quarterly earnings news releases

-- Replay of most recent earnings release conference call

-- Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates, times, and access number, as well as planned interaction with institutional investors)

-- Corporate Governance Information