Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Amends Three Decade Relationship With EDS

PLANO, Texas and BOSTON, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EDS today announced an approximately $125 million amendment to an eight-year contract with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA). This agreement, signed in the third quarter, provides additional information technology (IT) services to a contract that began in January 2004 and a relationship that originated in 1969.

"Over the course of our long relationship, EDS has developed a deep understanding of our business, and the EDS team has demonstrated their commitment to our constant goal to improve health care service," said Carl Ascenzo, BCBSMA's chief information officer. "The solutions provided by EDS will provide greater flexibility for our members, account and health care providers while controlling our overall IT costs."

For 36 years, EDS has provided Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts a number of IT services including Web hosting, desktop, mainframe, mid-range and WAN network management, as well as middleware and integration support.

"We have worked together to develop a strong partnership over the years and are committed to achieving common goals that support a member-centric business strategy," said EDS U.S. Healthcare Industry Leader Pat Costa. "We're here for the long haul and will continue to work together to create win-win situations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and its stakeholders."

"Through the 15 years that I've worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, I've seen first hand how IT has enhanced the client's business by utilizing technology in a very efficient manner," said Joe Fraser, EDS client delivery executive.

EDS provides services to more than 250 healthcare clients in 20 countries and processes more than 1 billion claims annually.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (http://www.bluecrossma.com/ ) was founded 68 years ago by a group of community-minded business leaders. Today, headquartered in Boston, BCBSMA provides coverage to 2.8 million members. Consistently recognized for standards of service that are among the highest in the nation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is the choice for health care consumers seeking reliable and high quality health care coverage. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

About EDS

EDS is a leading global technology services company delivering business solutions to its clients. EDS founded the information technology outsourcing industry more than 40 years ago. Today, EDS delivers a broad portfolio of information technology and business process outsourcing services to clients in the manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, communications, energy, transportation, and consumer and retail industries and to governments around the world. With $20.7 billion in 2004 revenue, EDS is ranked 95th on the Fortune 500. Learn more at http://www.eds.com/ .

The statements in this news release that are not historical statements, including statements regarding the amount of new contract values, are forward- looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond EDS' control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. For information concerning these risks and uncertainties, see EDS' most recent Form 10-Q. EDS disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

CONTACTS: Kimberly Walton - EDS Susan Leahy-Schuh - BCBSMA 972 605 0978 617 246 4823 kimberly.walton@eds.com susan.leahy-schuh@bcbsma.com

Massachusetts