New York – MultiPlan, Inc. and The Carlyle Group announced today that The Carlyle Group will acquire MultiPlan, the largest independent PPO in America. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2006. Financial terms were not disclosed.

MultiPlan is the nation’s oldest and largest independent Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) network offering nationwide access to more than 4,200 hospitals, 90,000 ancillary care facilities and 450,000 physicians and specialists. The company’s 2,000 clients include large and mid-sized insurers, third-party administrators, self-funded plans, HMOs and other entities that pay claims on behalf of health plans.

Mark Tabak, MultiPlan Chief Executive Officer, said, "The healthcare system is in the midst of sweeping change, and in our 35 years we’ve developed not only a comprehensive suite of healthcare cost management services, but also a transaction and information management engine with the sophistication to embrace the scope, speed and flexibility demands of the country’s largest insurers. In Carlyle we have the strategic and financial backing to propel our value even further in support of our clients’ and providers’ business and growth objectives."

Bob Dahl, Managing Director and Co-head of Carlyle’s Healthcare Group, said, "Steadily rising healthcare costs have sparked a new wave of innovation and consolidation in the managed care industry. We see MultiPlan’s independent, national network and related technology as the critical building blocks in new solutions that will emerge to support this changing market. We look forward to working with Mark and his management team as we take MultiPlan to the next level of growth and success."

PPOs, which are the most common type of health plan used today, offer a provider network and range of value-added services to help employers and other health plan sponsors manage the cost of medical claims. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, spending on healthcare in 2005 will have surpassed $1 trillion in the commercial sector, MultiPlan’s target market.

MultiPlan offers a full range of medical cost management solutions to a blue-ribbon list of clients, including the national PPO network, specialty networks, negotiation services and electronic claim routing technology. The company’s top 10 clients together deliver health coverage to more than 70 million Americans.

About MultiPlan
For 35 years, MultiPlan has helped healthcare payers and providers partner together to combat rising healthcare costs. MultiPlan serves as a single gateway to a host of primary, complementary and out-of-network strategies for managing the financial risks associated with healthcare claims. Clients include large and mid-sized insurers, third-party administrators, self-funded plans, HMOs and other entities that pay claims on behalf of health plans. For more information, visit www.multiplan.com/ .