PHS Pacificare Hlth Sys

CYPRESS, Calif. and MINNEAPOLIS, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE:PHS) announced that, at a special shareholder meeting held today, the merger agreement in which UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) will acquire PacifiCare was overwhelmingly approved with more than 99% of the votes cast in favor of the transaction. Under the terms of the merger agreement announced on July 6, 2005, PacifiCare shareholders will receive 1.10 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock plus $21.50 in cash for each PacifiCare share held. The completion of the transaction remains subject to the termination or expiration of the waiting period under provisions of the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR), the receipt of all other necessary regulatory approvals and the satisfaction or waiver of other conditions. UnitedHealth Group also announced that following informal discussions with the staff at the Department of Justice (DOJ), UnitedHealth Group today voluntarily re-filed its HSR pre-merger notification and report form related to the merger with PacifiCare. This action will provide the DOJ with additional time to review the transaction. Management of PacifiCare and UnitedHealth Group continue to believe the status of the DOJ review should not affect the anticipated timing of the completion of the transaction by the fourth quarter of 2005 or first quarter of 2006. About PacifiCare PacifiCare Health Systems is one of the nation's largest consumer health organizations with approximately 3.3 million health plan members and approximately 12 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/. About UnitedHealth Group UnitedHealth Group (http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to making health care work better. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of 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 55 million individuals nationwide. Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain statements, estimates or projections that constitute "forward-looking" statements as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Generally the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "could," "may," "project" and "will" and variations thereof or similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or results and are subject to risks and uncertainties that cannot be predicted or quantified and, consequently, actual results may differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations or projections. A list and description of some of the risks and uncertainties can be found in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Except to the extent otherwise required by federal securities laws, we do not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. DATASOURCE: PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc. CONTACT: Tyler Mason, Media Relations, +1-714-226-3530, , Dan Yarbrough, Investor Relations, +1-714-226-3540, , both of PacifiCare Health Systems, Inc.; or John Penshorn, Investor Relations, UnitedHealth Group, +1-952-936-7214, Web site: http://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/ Web site: http://www.pacificare.com/

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