Manatt Awarded Prestigious Grant From United Hospital Fund

NEW YORK, March 28, 2006 – Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, the national law and consulting firm, announced today that the United Hospital Fund (“The Fund”) has awarded a strategic grant to Manatt. With the aid of a $30,000 grant, Manatt’s healthcare group will evaluate how New York’s state-based prescription drug programs can best serve the most vulnerable low-income individuals who are enrolled in the new Medicare Part D Prescription Drug benefit.

Manatt will help federal and state policymakers determine what role, if any, three state-based prescription drug programs - Medicaid, the Elderly Prescription Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program, and New York’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) - should play for low-income or medically needy Medicare beneficiaries who also now qualify for the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit. Manatt’s healthcare attorneys and advisors will examine and compare the different ways the programs are interacting with the new Part D benefit, the extent to which the programs require or encourage eligible enrollees to participate in Part D, the programs’ outreach and education efforts related to Part D, and the ability of the programs to mitigate disruptions in care or access as a result of the new federal drug coverage.

“United Hospital Fund provides strategic grants to organizations that are particularly equipped to examine the complex landscape of the healthcare industry and provide integrated solutions combining research and analysis,” said Paul H. Irving, Chief Executive and Managing Partner. “Despite strong competition, Manatt was awarded this grant due to our sophisticated and integrated solutions-based healthcare practice.”

“The Fund has provided critical funding totaling over a million dollars so far this year to organizations dedicated to improving health services in New York,” added Andrea Cohen, a nationally recognized Medicaid expert and Counsel with Manatt. “We are so pleased to contribute our expertise to better understand the impact of the new Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit on some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, and to develop recommendations on how state-based prescription drug programs can most effectively and equitably enhance Part D coverage.”

About United Hospital Fund
United Hospital Fund is a health services research and philanthropic organization whose mission is to shape positive change in healthcare for the people of New York. The Fund provides grants that are part of the approximately $3 million it distributes annually to support the development of model projects, sponsor research to analyze systemic problems, and foster innovative solutions. The Fund distributes grants based on four funding priorities: Improving the quality of care, Redesigning service delivery, Expanding health insurance coverage, and Strengthening hospital finances. Beneficiaries of the Fund’s grants include not-for-profit and public hospitals, nursing homes, and healthcare, academic, and public interest organizations.

About Manatt
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, provides legal and consulting services to domestic and international clients from offices in Los Angeles, Orange County, Palo Alto and Sacramento, Calif.; New York City and Albany, N.Y.; and Washington, D.C. Its wholly owned subsidiary, ManattJones Global Strategies, LLC, develops and implements strategies to expand clients' businesses and facilitate their effective competition in global markets. For more information, visit www.manatt.com and www.manattjones.com.