The National Business Group on Health, a non-profit association of large U.S. employers, today honored American Express for its commitment and dedication to promoting a healthy workplace and encouraging their workers and families to support and maintain healthy lifestyles.

American Express received the 2012 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles award at the Leadership Summit sponsored by the National Business Group on Health's Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being. American Express received a prestigious Gold Award for its Healthy Living corporate wellness program that encourages preventive care and healthy lifestyles among American Express employees and their families. Gold awards honor companies that create cultural and environmental changes to support employees who are committed to long-term behavior changes. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Company has been recognized, receiving a Gold award the past two years and a Silver award in 2009.

American Express' global communication efforts around Healthy Living were also recognized with the Best Communication Tactics award. This is the first time the Business Group has recognized a company for their communication strategies to engage employees and develop a strong culture of wellness.

"At American Express, we strive to provide the same level of personal attention, respect and support towards the well-being of our people as we provide servicing our customers, "said David Kasiarz, Senior Vice President of Global Benefits and Compensation at American Express. "We take immense pride in creating a strong culture of health, that's why we're continually expanding our Healthy Living program in order to reach more employees and their families globally."

The American Express Healthy Living corporate wellness program was developed in 2009 to help its employees achieve greater physical, psychological, financial and social well-being by providing superior resources, enhanced access to care and incentives to help foster healthy changes, including health coaching, on-site medical clinics, lifestyle and disease management programs.

Helen Darling, President and CEO of the National Business Group on Health, commented: "We are very pleased to recognize American Express for its ongoing commitment to providing lifestyle improvement programs that encourage healthy lifestyles for their employees. American Express and its management team should be proud for their dedication and recognizing the importance of promoting and maintaining a healthy workforce. We congratulate them on receiving this award."

Last year, the National Business Group on Health recognized American Express with its inaugural award for "Innovation in Reducing Health Care Disparities" for our ongoing commitment to reducing healthcare disparities in the workplace and for supporting a diverse workforce.

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/companies/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.

About the National Business Group on Health
The National Business Group on Health is the nation's only non-profit, membership organization of large employers devoted exclusively to finding innovative and forward-thinking solutions to their most important health care and related benefits issues and to being the voice for large employers on national health care issues. The Business Group, whose 345 members include 64 of the Fortune 100, identifies, develops and shares best practices in health benefits, disability, health and productivity, related paid time off and work/life balance issues. Business Group members provide health coverage for more than 55 million U.S. workers, retirees and their families. For more information, visit www.businessgrouphealth.org.