IBM To Provide Employees With 100% Primary Health Care Coverage, New Wellness Rebate

IBM To Provide Employees With 100% Primary Health Care Coverage, New Wellness
Rebate
Underscores IBM's Commitment to Wellness and Primary Care to Improve Employee
Health and Lower Costs

ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) today
announced that it will provide U.S. employees with 100 percent coverage for
primary health care, beginning in 2010. Employees enrolled in IBM plans will
receive full coverage throughout the year -- no coinsurance or deductible --
for in-network primary care with their internist, family practitioner,
pediatrician, general practitioner or primary osteopath. IBM will be among the
first U.S. companies to cover primary care at 100 percent.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO)

The company also announced a new wellness incentive for employees to encourage
changes in lifestyle to build energy, better health and vitality through all
aspects of personal well-being -- emotional, mental and physical. IBM
pioneered the concept of healthy living rebates for its employees in 2004 and
the new rebate will be one of five $150 cash incentives available to all
full-time IBM employees in the U.S.

"This new approach advances IBM's advocacy of wellness, preventative and
primary care -- the cornerstone of keeping people healthy and productive,"
said Randy MacDonald, IBM senior vice president, Human Resources. "As a
result of our focus on wellness and primary care, IBM employees have become
healthier and our costs are rising more slowly."

IBM's expanded support for primary care will lower costs for employees by
eliminating co-payment or co-insurance any time that they, or covered family
members, receive care from an in-network primary care doctor. It enhances
IBM's coverage for preventive or "wellness" visits, such as yearly check-ups,
which began in 2006. The new benefit will apply to all IBM-self insured
medical plan options, which currently cover about 80 percent of IBM employees
in the U.S. Other employees participate in HMOs, which typically provide
most, but not all, preventive and primary services at low or no cost after
payment of premiums.

Both IBM and its employees have yielded significant savings over the past
several years through the company's support for wellness and preventive care.
Between 2004 and 2007, IBM invested $79 million in wellness programs, saving
about $191 million in health-related costs. IBM's support has also produced a
dramatic increases in healthy behavior among its employees, such as physical
activity and healthy eating.

A recent IBM telephone survey (1) of 1,000 Americans found that one in four
people have not received a "wellness" visit within the last year, despite
mounting evidence that 40 percent of deaths are due to preventable causes (2).
The IBM survey concludes that those who see their doctor for routine wellness
visits are more informed, are happier with the care they receive, and are more
involved in managing their health. Those who have not had a wellness visit
within the last five years are less satisfied with the medical care they
receive from their primary doctor.

New Healthy Living Rebate Gives Employees $150 For Adopting Healthy Lifestyle

IBM also announced a new Personal Vitality Rebate, which will encourage
employees to think about good health and well-being in broader holistic terms
-- not simply by checking one's weight or watching cholesterol, but also
paying attention to good sleep habits, effective stress management and proper
nutrition. The rebate will become part of IBM's popular wellness rebate
program that rewards employees and their children for exercise, healthy eating
and other healthy behaviors. Each rebate is $150 in cash, and employees can
chose any two rebates to receive up to $300 in cash per year.

Following the same successful model as IBM's other rebate programs, the
Personal Vitality Rebate will use interactive online tools to help employees
take steps over 12 weeks to build energy and vitality. The self-paced program
will be securely accessed by employees and does not set targets or
requirements. Rather, employees can take action on a personalized plan with
activities such as monitoring sleep habits or tracking and managing daily
activities that boost or drain energy.

Both the 100% primary care coverage and new wellness rebate will take effect
on January 1, 2010, after IBM's annual benefits enrollment period.

Footnotes
(1) Actual Causes of Death in the United States. Journal of the American
Medical Association 2004;291:1238-1245. Ali H. Mokdad, PhD; James S. Marks,
MD, MPH; Donna F. Stroup, PhD, MSc; Julie L. Gerberding, MD, MPH.

(2) The IBM Health Care Survey analysis is based on the findings of a phone
survey that was conducted by Braun Research among 1,000 adults ages 18 or
older from June 25-29, 2009. Respondents comprised a representative sample of
insured, underinsured, and uninsured. The total results reported are at the 95
percent confidence level with a margin of error of +/-2.5 percent.

Contact: Laurie Friedman
Laurie1@us.ibm.com
914-499-4608

SOURCE IBM

Laurie Friedman, Laurie1@us.ibm.com, +1-914-499-4608