National Business Group on Health Recognizes Verizon as a Best Employer for Healthy...

National Business Group on Health Recognizes Verizon as a Best Employer for
Healthy Lifestyles

NEW YORK, June 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Business Group on Health (NBGH)
has named Verizon to its 2009 list of Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles.

Verizon earned a spot in the list's Gold Category for helping employees make
better choices about health and well-being. The company provides 100 percent
coverage for preventive care. To help promote a healthy lifestyle, Verizon
also manages 44 Health & Wellness Centers on company sites nationwide.
Employees in Verizon locations without a wellness center have access to
discounted memberships at more than 2,000 health clubs.

"Employers know first-hand that a healthy workforce is essential to increasing
productivity and to maintaining a competitive edge in the new global economy,"
said Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health.

In 2008, Verizon spent $3.7 billion to provide health care benefits for more
than 830,000 employees, retirees and their dependants. Three years ago, the
company introduced the Verizon HealthZone, an online resource for health
information that helps employees make informed decisions about their health
care. More than 10 percent of Verizon's employees had enrolled in HealthZone
by the end of 2008.

The company believes that a healthy lifestyle promotes productive and engaged
employees, who are capable of meeting the challenges posed by busy personal
and professional lives. To that end, Verizon's employee assistance program,
VZ-LIFE, provides resources for dealing with personal problems and challenges
related to parenting and child care, adult care, health and wellness, moving
and relocation, and many other issues.

Verizon's work-family policies are designed to give tools to employees to help
them manage their lives. For instance, in 2008 the company provided employees
with 37,500 hours in emergency backup care for employees' children -- time
that employees would have otherwise had to use as vacation or personal time.
The company also offers employees child care and adult care locater services
as well as a Geriatric Care Management program.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global
leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.
Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving
more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations
provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over
the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes
Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to
customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse
workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating
revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit
www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and
biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other
information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at
www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News
Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news
releases.

SOURCE Verizon

Alberto Canal, Verizon, +1-908-559-6367, alberto.c.canal@verizon.com