FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

"This is a significant milestone for MVP as we work to grow our network across the state of New Hampshire," said David Oliker, MVP president and chief executive officer. "A working partnership with Dartmouth-Hitchcock immediately gives us the opportunity to expand our reach from the North Country to the Massachusetts border with a goal of steadily building a statewide network."

Based in Schenectady, NY, MVP currently covers over a half-million lives in New York state, Vermont and New Hampshire.

MVP is currently enrolling and covering members in Hillsborough and Merrimack Counties. Together with previously signed hospital contracts in the North Country and the Monadnock Region, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock agreement establishes a wide hospital and provider network for MVP in anticipation of expansion into Cheshire, Sullivan and Grafton Counties in the early fall.

We have been working with MVP in Vermont for some time, and look forward to working with them in New Hampshire," said John Collins, Clinic CEO for Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. We are pleased to be able to expand our insurance options for our patients.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center brings together the expertise, dedication, and compassion of one of the nation's top hospitals and the scholarship, research, and leadership of one of the nation's oldest and most distinguished medical schools to form New Hampshire's only academic medical center.

In addition to providing exceptional diagnosis, treatment, and care to over a million people from New Hampshire, Vermont, and the surrounding area, the Medical Center is home to leading research that is shaping trends and changing care patterns across the U.S. and the world.

MVP Health Care Inc. is an independent, not-for-profit health insurer ranked as one of the nations top 10 health plans for customer satisfaction and among two plans nationally recognized for clinical excellence. MVP offers a broad spectrum of fully insured and self-insured health benefits plans to more than a half-million members in New York state, Vermont and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit www.mvphealthcare.com.