UnitedHealthcare by AmeriChoice has been selected by Mississippi’s State and School Employees Health Insurance Management Board to be the state’s partner in its Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

When the new policy begins in January 2010, UnitedHealthcare will be the exclusive health plan for approximately 65,000 children throughout Mississippi who are enrolled in CHIP.

“Particularly in these challenging times, we are keenly aware of the responsibilities that come in helping provide access to quality care statewide for the children of Mississippi,” said Rick Jelinek, CEO of AmeriChoice, the state and public programs business of UnitedHealth Group. “We look forward to bringing our substantial resources and experience to the critical mission of improving the health status of Mississippi’s CHIP beneficiaries.”

For more than 20 years, the company has served as an innovative developer of public sector health care solutions. The AmeriChoice Personal Care Model™ features direct contact by clinical staff, who work to build a support network for chronically and acutely ill members involving family, physicians and government and community-based organizations.

Currently serving more than 2.5 million members in 21 states and the District of Columbia, AmeriChoice, a UnitedHealth Group [NYSE: UNH] company, is a diversified health services company dedicated to helping states, localities, and other government agencies facilitate care for the economically impoverished, the medically underserved and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage. For more information, visit www.americhoice.com.