MINNEAPOLIS - (October 22, 2009) - UnitedHealthcare is now offering in-network physicians and their staffs free access to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Drugs and Biologics Compendium™.

The NCCN compendium, developed by 21 of the nation's leading cancer centers, contains authoritative, scientifically derived information that supports decision-making about the appropriate use of drugs and biologics for patients with cancer. The NCCN Compendium recommendations are derived from the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology™, a widely used source of information recognized as the standard for clinical policy in oncology in the United States. The NCCN Compendium is recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a mandated reference for oncology coverage policy.

In January 2008, UnitedHealthcare began basing its benefit coverage for chemotherapy drugs used in outpatient settings on the NCCN Drugs and Biologics Compendium, which recommends the most appropriate therapy based on clinical evidence and the consensus of leading academic cancer centers. The guidelines suggest the correct diagnostic evaluation, such as scans, X-rays and lab tests, optimal therapy - drug, X-ray or surgery - as well as appropriate follow-up tests. UnitedHealthcare is the only health insurance company that provides an online NCCN Compendium subscription for in-network physicians.

"UnitedHealthcare is the first national health plan to incorporate National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines into its chemotherapy-drug benefit," said Dr. Newcomer. "Our collaboration with NCCN reflects UnitedHealthcare's commitment to partner closely with the nation's leading independent medical societies and physician organizations in order to ensure our members receive quality, evidence-based care."

"We applaud UnitedHealthcare's decision to help support thousands of physicians who use the NCCN Compendium as a reference for the appropriate use of drugs and biologics in patients with cancer," said William T. McGivney, Ph.D., NCCN chief executive officer. "This latest collaborative effort reflects UnitedHealthcare's continuing commitment to ensuring physicians and health plan participants have seamless access to quality, evidence-based cancer care."

To use the NCCN Compendium free of charge, physicians or other health care professionals in UnitedHealthcare's network just need to log on to UnitedHealthcare's dedicated physician Web site, www.unitedhealthcareonline.com , and register and waive the $499 subscription fee. Once signed up, physicians and their staffs will have unlimited access to the NCCN Compendium.

"UnitedHealthcare is constantly looking for ways to enhance the quality of oncology care for our health plan customers, and this is another important step in doing so," said Lee Newcomer, M.D., UnitedHealthcare's senior vice president, oncology. "The NCCN Compendium is a trusted source of treatment recommendations that helps eliminate guesswork about coverage of oncology drugs. Making the NCCN Compendium available, and free of charge, saves time for physicians and their staff by eliminating phone calls for coverage confirmation, enabling them to spend more of their time caring for patients."

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives. For more information, visit NCCN.org.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN; Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with approximately 590,000 physicians and care professionals and more than 4,900 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.