Humana Wins National Recognition for Leadership, Service and Innovation in Second Annual American Bu

LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Humana Inc. Senior Vice President and Chief Service and Information Officer Bruce J. Goodman has won a Stevie Award for Best Product Development or Engineering Executive in the 2004 American Business Awards. This honor recognizes Humana for continuing technology leadership in the health benefits industry and for putting actionable health information into the hands of consumers.

Goodman was presented the Stevie before a packed ballroom in ceremonies held at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in New York City on May 10th. The ceremonies were hosted by CNNfn personalities Rhonda Schaffler and Ali Velshi, videocast live on the Internet and broadcast nationwide on radio.

Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), The American Business Awards are the first national, all-encompassing business awards program honoring great performances in the workplace. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word “crowned,” the awards recognize companies and the people who work for them for their positive efforts, accomplishments and contributions to their communities.

“I am proud to serve at a company with such talented and creative people who are genuinely concerned about the health cost dilemma and who are committed to doing something relevant, practical and immediate to address it,” said Goodman. “This award is truly a testament to the dedication and effectiveness of Humana associates.” Humana was also a national finalist in two additional categories: Best Customer Service Organization and Most Innovative Company (over 2500 employees). Humana earned the finalist designation in the service category for its accomplishments in transforming service delivery and organizational streamlining through advanced technology, process re-engineering and human capital initiatives.

“By refusing to accept annual double-digit health cost increases and by choosing to dramatically change ourselves, our relationship with our customers and the products and services we offer, Humana has been able to significantly reduce employer health benefit costs and at the same time increase value and savings for consumers,” said Michael B. McCallister, president and chief executive officer of Humana. “Bruce and his team are instrumental in helping Humana address critical technology issues that are enabling this transformation. We are just as proud of being selected as a finalist for progressively changing our service model and for our commitment to innovation. These are important achievements by our Humana associates that independent judges from a variety of business backgrounds have agreed are worthy of national recognition.”

More than 800 nominations from companies of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted for consideration in more than 40 categories, including Best Overall Company, Best Executive, Best New Product or Service and Best Support Staffer.

Members of the Awards’ Board of Distinguished Judges and Advisors and their staffs selected Stevie winners from among the Finalists. The Board includes business luminaries such as Rich Karlgaard, publisher of Forbes, Bruce Nelson, chairman & CEO of Office Depot, marketing gurus Don Peppers and Martha Rogers, Anthony Robbins, Chairman & CEO of The Anthony Robbins Companies, Drew Schutte, publisher of Wired Magazine, Jeffrey Tarr, chairman & CEO of Hoover’s Inc., and Donald Trump, chairman, president and CEO of The Trump Organization.

Details about The American Business Awards and the list of Stevie winners and Finalists are available at http://www.stevieawards.com/aba .

About Humana

Humana Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is one of the nation’s largest publicly traded health benefits companies, with approximately 7 million medical members located primarily in 19 states and Puerto Rico. Humana offers coordinated health insurance coverage and related services -- through traditional and Internet-based plans -- to employer groups, government-sponsored plans and individuals.

More information regarding Humana is available via the Internet at http://www.humana.com/ , including copies of:

 * Annual report to stockholders; * Securities and Exchange Commission filings; * Most recent investor conference presentation; * Quarterly earnings press releases; * Audio archive of most recent earnings release conference call; * Calendar of events (includes upcoming earnings conference call dates, times, and access number, as well as planned participation in investor conferences) * Corporate Governance Information About The Stevie Awards 

Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” by the New York Post (September 22, 2002), Stevie Awards are conferred in two programs: The American Business Awards and The International Business Awards. Honoring companies of all types and sizes and the people behind them, the Stevies recognize outstanding leadership, innovation, perseverance, creativity, teamwork, and integrity through more than 40 categories. A Board of Distinguished Judges & Advisors oversee the program, which includes leading business executives, authors and academics. Sponsors of The 2004 American Business Awards include the BusinessTalkRadio Network, Digipict, Hoover’s Online, Inc. Magazine, Miller Heiman, the Professional Society for Sales & Marketing Training, Selling Power Magazine, Speedera Networks, Ultimate Software, Webcast in a Box, and Wired Magazine.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030425/HUMANALOGOAP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840 Humana Inc.

CONTACT: Dick Brown of Humana Corporate Communications, +1-502-580-3683,or dbrown4@humana.com