WellPoint

WellPoint Inc.

Type	Public (NYSE: WLP)
Founded	Anthem Insurance and WellPoint Health Networks merger in 2004
Headquarters	Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Key people	Angela Braly - President & CEO
Industry	Health Insurance
Products	Blue Cross Blue Shield
Revenue	▲$56.953 billion USD (2006)
Operating income	▲$4.116 billion USD (2005)
Net income	▲$3.095 billion USD (2006)[1]
Employees	42,000+
Website	www.wellpoint.com

WellPoint, Inc. is a large, U.S. based health insurance company and the largest member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc. and began trading its common stock under the WLP symbol on December 1, 2004. On April 13, 2009 it was announced that WellPoint had reached a definitive agreement under which St. Louis based Express Scripts will acquire WellPoint's NextRx subsidiaries for $4.675 billion.^[2]

Express Scripts, the United States' third largest Pharmacy Benefit Management organization, is expected to officially close the transaction in the second quarter of 2009.

Company description

WellPoint is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its 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 Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan counties and as Blue Cross, Blue Shield or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. In addition to Blue Cross, the company also operates under the Anthem name.

WellPoint Inc. spent more than $2.4 million on lobbying in 2009, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.^[3]

Quality of care

• In the California Healthcare Quality Report Card 2009 Edition, Anthem received 2 out of 4 stars in Meeting National Standards of Care and How Members Rate Their HMO.^[4]

• When requesting an insurance quote, it can require 6 to 8 weeks for the quote to arrive in the mail.

Controversy

In July 2008, WellPoint subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross agreed to a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care. In order to resolve allegations of improper rescission (cancellation of policies due to claims), WellPoint paid $10 million and reinstated 1,770 policy-holders whose plans they had cancelled. They also agreed to provide compensation for any medical debts incurred by these policy-holders in the meantime. However, WellPoint did not officially admit liability.^[5]

In August 2009, WellPoint’s Anthem Blue Cross unit, the largest for-profit insurer in California, contacted its employees and urged them to get involved to oppose the Democratic Party-led Congress' plan for health care reform. "Regrettably, the congressional legislation, as currently passed by four of the five key committees in Congress, does not meet our definition of responsible and sustainable reform," Anthem said in a company e-mail last week. The proposals would hurt the company by "causing tens of millions of Americans to lose their private coverage and end up in a government-run plan." Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit watchdog organization in Santa Monica has asked California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown to investigate its claim that WellPoint Inc. pushed workers to write their elected officials, attend town hall meetings and enlist family and friends to ensure an overhaul that matches the firm’s interests. According to Consumer Watchdog, California's labor code directly prohibits coercive communications, including forbidding employers from "tending to control or direct" or "coercing or influencing" employees' political activities or affiliations. "WellPoint has not been contacted by the California attorney general and has not seen any complaint; therefore, we cannot respond to any questions at this time,” a company spokesperson said. ^[6]

Anthem Health Plans of Maine, a Wellpoint subsidiary, is suing the state for the right to increase premiums further. ^[7] Since Maine licenses insurance companies through its Department of Insurance, Anthem would need the state's permission to raise rates. The company argues that they needed an 18.5% increase to maintain a 3% profit margin, while the state only approved a 10.9% increase. The state is arguing that the company makes enough profit, and that it should employ cost-cutting measures in a recession. Wellpoint's premiums have increased 400% since the company was made private in 1999. The case was presented on October 7th, 2009 in the Courts of Maine.^[8]

The former Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs at WellPoint, Elizabeth Fowler, is currently the Senior Counsel to Max Baucus, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and leading opponent of the "public option" in healthcare reform.^[9]

References

• Wellpoint official website - www.wellpoint.com
• International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 25. St. James Press, 1999
• Anders, George, "Blue Cross of California Sells Stake in WellPoint Health for $476 Million," Wall Street Journal, January 28, 1993.
• Connolly, Jim, "California Blue Cross Plans to Start For-Profit Sub," National Underwriter Life & Health-Financial Services Edition, September 14, 1992.

1. ^ Summary Annual Report 2006
2. ^ *Express Scripts Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire WellPoint NextRx Subsidiaries for $4.675 Billion
3. ^ http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?lname=Blue+Cross%2FBlue+Shield&year=2009 Center for Responsive Politics, 2009 report
4. ^ State of California - Health Care Quality Report Card 2009 Edition
5. ^ "2 health insurers to pay $13M to Calif. regulators". AP/Google. 2008-07-18. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDBLyPh2QHiIO7azoVYF9Q2TVRSwD9203RSG2. 
6. ^ http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurers-reform3-2009sep03,0,2545747.story LA Times, WellPoint, United Health accused of illegal actions, 3 Sept 2009
7. ^ http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/8735
8. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/wellpoint-subsidiary-figh_n_309529.html
9. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33129315/ Fact or fiction? Senate chairman has ties to big insurer

External links

• Wellpoint Website - www.wellpoint.com
• Anthem - www.anthem.com
• Blue Cross of California - www.bluecrossca.com
• Article about unethical practices of Blue Cross of California - Los Angeles Times
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia - www.bcbsga.com
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri - www.bcbsmo.com
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin - www.bcbswi.com
• Empire BlueCross BlueShield - www.empireblue.com
• Lumenos, an unlicensed affiliate company - www.lumenos.com
• Sourcewatch profile - www.sourcewatch.org
• Center for Responsive politics profile (Blue Cross/WellPoint)- www.opensecrets.org