UnitedHealthcare is launching a new health benefits program called PlanBien(SM) that combines health benefit plans with services designed to help enhance the health and well-being of Spanish-speaking Hispanics and their families and dependents. PlanBien goes beyond traditional health plans with a host of linguistically and culturally relevant health-information and customer-service programs tailored to meet the unique health care needs of Latinos. These include: a bilingual provider directory that lists physician offices with Spanish-speaking doctors and/or staff; Spanish-speaking customer service representatives to answer questions and help plan participants locate Spanish-speaking doctors; specialized educational materials printed in Spanish including ¿Que le dijo el doctor? (What did the doctor tell you?) – bilingual photo stories depicting how a family discusses common health concerns; and much more. PlanBien is available now to small and medium-sized businesses, labor organizations and public-sector entities and features market-specific product portfolios in select markets in Florida and Texas, and will soon be available in California. “In developing PlanBien, we enhanced UnitedHealthcare’s quality and cost-effective health benefit plans with innovative support services that help address two growing areas of concern: the need to reduce the rate of the uninsured among the Latino population; and the effort to help Latinos – many of whom communicate more comfortably in Spanish – better understand their health plan and become more engaged in their health care. We believe PlanBien can make a positive impact on both fronts,” said Russell Bennett, UnitedHealthcare’s vice president of Latino Health Solutions at UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH - News) company. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Latinos comprise America’s fastest-growing work force, which is projected to grow 34 percent nationwide by 2014. Also, data published by the Yankelovich Hispanic Monitor indicate that the majority of Latinos prefer to receive health care information in Spanish. “Employers and organizations are increasingly aware that their employees and members reflect a very diverse society and, as such, demand more than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ health plan,” said Bennett. “UnitedHealthcare’s PlanBien is perfectly suited for businesses and organizations with Spanish-speaking employees who may speak English at work but prefer to speak Spanish at home or when dealing with complex or personal topics like their health or health care benefits.” “We are happy to partner with a health plan that not only talks the talk when serving the Spanish-speaking market, but walks the walk in delivering products and services to Spanish-speaking consumers with specifically tailored cultural and local usage wording for all materials, Web site and customer service personnel. UnitedHealthcare’s PlanBien offers that and much more,” said José M. Berenguer, III, Esq., CEO of The Berenguer Group, a Miami- based insurance broker. More information about Latino Health Solutions, including additional bilingual resources such as wellness tools and health-related articles, are available at UnitedHealthcare’s bilingual (English/Spanish) Web site, http://www.uhclatino.com | 