WellPoint Named as URAC Award Finalist for Best Practices in Health Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection

INDIANAPOLIS, July 14 /PRNewswire/ –Three WellPoint, Inc. care management
programs were recently selected as finalists for the Best Practices in Health
Care Consumer Empowerment and Protection Awards. URAC, the nation’s leading
accreditation organization, will honor the finalists during their 11th Annual
Quality Summit, October 5-7, 2010 in Chicago.

WellPoint’s programs were selected by a distinguished panel of judges out of
entries from across the nation. Thirty finalists are invited to present their
winning programs at the Annual Quality Summit which will showcase best practices
in two categories: Consumer Decision-Making and Consumer Health Improvement. The
following WellPoint programs were selected:

– WellPoint’s Social Work Care Management Programhelps Medicaid and other
low-income members to determine psychosocial and other related care
needs. Social work services are vital in facilitating adaptive change
and restoring equilibrium in members with complex psychosocial needs.
– The Progesterone for Preterm Birth (17-P) Program takes a comprehensive
approach to address one of the leading causes of infant mortality.
Mothers at risk for preterm delivery have been shown to have better
outcomes when they get a series of 17-p injections. WellPoint’s program
includes a cost-effective administration process in which 17-P is
administered in the physician’s office as opposed to the home.
– The Benefit Based Incentive Maternity Program evaluates the effects of a
benefit-based incentive to encourage member participation in a maternity
management program aimed at supporting prenatal and postpartum care,
including supporting improved pregnancy health, mitigating high-risk
behaviors, and providing mother and infant access to the health care
system.

“WellPoint strives to provide our members with the programs, tools, information
and resources necessary to help empower them to make informed decisions about
their health and health care,” said Anthony Nguyen, senior vice president of
Care Management for WellPoint. “It’s an honor to have three of our care
management programs–more than any other health plan–recognized. This
reinforces that our efforts toward improving the health of members and helping
to improve today’s health care system are making an impact.”

Entries were judged by a distinguished panel chaired by epidemiologist Thomas W.
Wilson, Ph.D, DrPH, Trajectory HealthCare, LLC. The 30-member panel included the
best and most widely recognized experts in program evaluation, care
coordination, health information technology, employer and purchaser decision
making and patient safety. Entries were reviewed and scored by the judges based
on objective criteria.

“The Annual Quality Summit provides a unique opportunity for leaders in health
care to learn what premier companies are doing to advance consumer protection
and empowerment,” said Alan P. Spielman, President and CEO of URAC. “It is a
one-of-a-kind conference, designed to inspire the industry as a whole to rapidly
adopt proven practices that advance patient safety and empower consumers with
improved decision-making tools.”

All finalists are invited to attend a special event during the conference, when
they will discover how they will be distinguished as award winners. Gold,
Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mention Award winners in each of the six
organization categories will be announced at the dinner. Platinum Award winners
will also be announced, in the two topic categories.

To see a complete list of judges, go to

http://www.urac.org/accreditationEducation/11thSummitjudges.asp.

About WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint works to simplify the connection between Health, Care and Value. We
help to improve the health of our communities, deliver better care to members,
and provide greater value to our customers and shareholders. WellPoint is the
nation’s largest health benefits company, with approximately 34 million members
in its affiliated health plans. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and
Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves members as the Blue Cross licensee for
California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut,
Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas
City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the Blue Cross Blue Shield
licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the
Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties
only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington,
D.C.), and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint does
business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield or Empire Blue
Cross Blue Shield (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves
customers throughout the country as UniCare. Additional information about
WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

SOURCE WellPoint, Inc.