NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HealthMarkets, a leading provider of affordable health and life insurance to the self-employed, individuals and small businesses has reached an agreement to sell the assets of Student Resources, a stand-alone operating division of The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company (a wholly-owned subsidiary of HealthMarkets) to UnitedHealth Group.

Student Resources offers health insurance programs that provide single, school-year coverage to individual students at colleges and universities. Student Resources also provides accident policies for students at public and private schools in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve.

“This is a strategic decision that benefits both organizations and their customers,” said William J. Gedwed, President and CEO of HealthMarkets. “For HealthMarkets, this will allow us to sharpen our focus on our strengths in the individual, self employed and small business markets.”

The acquisition will further the efforts of UnitedHealth Group to make a broad range of health care services more affordable, more accessible and easier to use for the student insurance market. The transaction expands and enhances opportunities for Student Resources’ customers allowing them to access UnitedHealth Group’s technology applications, business services and national network of more than 500,000 physicians and other health care professionals as well as 4,600 hospitals.

Following completion of the acquisition, Student Resources’ customers will experience continuity of benefits and services.

“We are excited with this opportunity to combine the best of Student Resources and UnitedHealth Group to bring greater access to new affordable health care solutions for students and their families,” said David Wichmann, president and COO, UnitedHealthcare (a UnitedHealth Group company). “This furthers our strong commitment to serve both students and employees of colleges and universities and help them optimize their health and well being.”

Completion of the transaction (which is subject to various third party consents and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions) is currently expected in the fourth quarter of 2006. Student Resources’ employees will become employees of UnitedHealth Group at the end of 2006 following completion of the transaction.

HealthMarkets was advised by The Blackstone Group on this transaction.

About HealthMarkets

HealthMarkets, headquartered in North Richland Hills, Texas, is a provider of health and life insurance products to individuals, families, students, the self-employed and small businesses. HealthMarkets offers products and services through its subsidiaries: The MEGA Life and Health Insurance Company, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee and The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company. The Company’s offerings include individual and self employed health insurance, small employer group health insurance, student health insurance, life insurance and reinsurance. Through its Consumer Guided Health Insurance plans, HealthMarkets seeks to provide affordable and accessible health coverage to individuals and small businesses. The Company is owned by of a group of private equity investors, including The Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, members of management and the company’s dedicated, licensed agents through the Company’s agent stock accumulation plans. For more information, visit www.healthmarkets.com.

About UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group (www.unitedhealthgroup.com) is a diversified Fortune50 company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., that provides a broad spectrum of resources and services to help people achieve improved health and well-being through all stages of life. The company designs products, services and technologies that help facilitate access to health resources, offer access to diverse and fully qualified physicians and other health care providers, simplify the health care experience, and promote safe and fact-based medicine. UnitedHealth Group offers products and services through six operating businesses: UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, AmeriChoice, Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and Ingenix. Through its family of businesses, UnitedHealth Group serves more than 70 million individuals nationwide.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995:

Some of the matters discussed in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements are intended to be identified in this document by the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “objective,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential” and similar expressions. Actual results may vary materially from those included in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions; the continued ability of HealthMarkets (the “Company”) to compete for customers and insureds in an industry where many of its competitors may have greater market share and/or greater financial resources; the Company’s ability to accurately estimate medical claims and control costs; changes in government regulation that could increase the costs of compliance or cause the Company to discontinue marketing its products in certain states; the Company’s failure to comply with new or existing government regulation that could subject it to significant fines and penalties; changes in the relationship between the Company and the membership associations and/or changes in the laws and regulations governing so-called “association group” insurance (particularly changes that would subject the issuance of policies to prior premium rate approval and/or require the issuance of policies on a “guaranteed issue” basis); significant liabilities and costs associated with litigation; failure of the Company’s information systems to provide timely and accurate information; negative publicity regarding the Company’s business practices and/or regarding the health insurance industry in general; the Company’s inability to enter into or maintain satisfactory relationships with networks of hospitals, physicians, dentists, pharmacies and other health care providers; failure of the Company’s regulated insurance company subsidiaries to maintain their current ratings by A.M. Best Company, Fitch and/or Standard & Poor’s; failure to obtain court approval of the proposed settlements; and the other risk factors set forth in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contacts
HealthMarkets Corporate Communications
Donna Ledbetter, 817-255-5405
Donna.Ledbetter@healthmarkets.com
or
UnitedHealth Group Public Relations
Debora M Spano, 401-732-7374
dspano@uhc.com

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© Business Wire 2006