Sacramento CA, May 7, 2004 - VSP announced today that vsp.com has been awarded a full re-accreditation by URAC, a Washington, DC-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

"We are proud vsp.com has received full re-accreditation by URAC," said Roger J. Valine, VSP President and CEO. "This reaffirms our ongoing commitment to excellence in e-health."

VSP provides a variety of flexible eyecare benefit plans. With nearly 38 million members, one in eight people in the United States relies on VSP for eyecare health coverage. VSP's Sight for Students program has helped more than 220,000 low-income/uninsured children receive free eyecare services since its inception in 1997.

"By applying for and receiving full re-accreditation by URAC's Health Website (HWS) Accreditation Committee, VSP has demonstrated a commitment to quality health care," said Garry Carneal, URAC president and CEO. "Quality health care is crucial to our nation's welfare and it is important to have organizations that are willing to measure themselves against national standards."

vsp.com provides members with secure access to account information, an extensive directory of network doctors, and a vast resource of educational materials concerning eyecare health and safety issues.

The URAC HWS Accreditation program is composed of 53 rigorous standards that look very closely at, and address various aspects of health Web site operations, including:

• Health content editorial process;
• Disclosure of financial relationships;
• Linking to other Web sites;
• Privacy and security; and,
• Consumer complaint mechanisms.

URAC, an independent, nonprofit organization, is a leader in promoting health care quality through accreditation and certification programs. URAC's standards keep pace with the rapid changes in the health care system, and provide a mark of distinction for health care organizations to demonstrate their commitment to quality and accountability. Through its broad-based governance structure and an inclusive standards development process, URAC ensures that all stakeholders are represented in setting meaningful standards for the health care industry. For more information, visit www.urac.org.

###