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WellPoint Launches 360 Health, First-of-Its-Kind Program to Provide 34 Million Members With Unprecedented Access to Tools That Promote Wellness and Address Illness

Posted on: Monday, 17 July 2006, 12:00 CDT

INDIANAPOLIS, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- WellPoint, Inc., , the nation's largest health benefits provider, announced today its nationwide launch of 360 Health(R), the most robust benefits program in the industry to comprehensively address preventive care, health improvement and care coordination. This new program will provide health information and counsel collected from thousands of physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals to WellPoint's 34 million members through a single point of contact.

360 Health is the industry's first program to integrate all care management programs and tools into a centralized, consumer-friendly resource that assists members in navigating the health care system, using their health benefits and providing information to help them to access comprehensive and appropriate care.

"Given recent advances in medical care and technologies, as well as all of the health information available to consumers today, it is easy to become overwhelmed. 360 Health helps members understand and navigate the health care system, and better understand the treatment options that are available to them," said Samuel Nussbaum, M.D., chief medical officer of WellPoint. "The services provided through 360 Health are member focused, harnessing the knowledge of thousands of medical professionals, including physicians, nurses and nutritionists.

"In addition, the clinical information provided through 360 Health has been developed by the nation's leading health professionals, including medical experts from Harvard Medical School and other leading academic institutions," said Nussbaum.

A key component of 360 Health is the personal health record (PHR), the substance of which is owned and managed by WellPoint members. WellPoint is the first insurer to make PHRs available to its members. The PHRs are automatically populated by member-provided information plus claims data received by WellPoint. They can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection, empowering members to track and share their health histories with their doctors to help achieve the highest quality of care.

"360 Health and its components, including PHRs, demonstrate how, as the country's largest health benefits company, WellPoint is poised to transform the way health benefits are delivered to and utilized by consumers," said Joan Kennedy, senior vice president of WellPoint and president of Health Management Corporation, WellPoint's wholly owned integrated care management company.

WellPoint has invested nearly $100 million to date in developing 360 Health and has drawn extensively from pilot programs initiated by its subsidiary health plans. Pilot programs in New York have shown that group customers achieved a 2:1 return on investment on all employees enrolled in the program.

It is anticipated that 360 Health will be rolled out over a two-year period in all markets in which WellPoint operates health plans. WellPoint members will be able to access the benefits of 360 Health by phone, email, and a personalized website.

In addition to the wealth of health care information available through the 360 Health platform, the program helps members access a wide range of services including online wellness and lifestyle programs, discounts on health related products and alternative medicine therapies, and 24-hour access to WellPoint associates who can provide health information.

Xerox Corporation -- a technology and services enterprise employing more than 55,000 people worldwide, including 29,700 employees in the United States -- piloted several components of 360 Health.

"Xerox's participation is part of our comprehensive approach to give people support and tools to reduce health risks before these risks turn into more serious conditions," said Lawrence Becker, director of benefits for Xerox Corporation. "Programs like this extend the high value we place on employee health and wellness, and they can help people stay healthier, better understand what ails them, and better manage any health situations that arise. It's a strategy that helps put participants at the center of the healthcare system rather than in the middle."

The 360 Health platform enhances the wellness and prevention tools and services already available through WellPoint's health plans. Under 360 Health, members who traditionally do not take full advantage of their health benefits can now go to a single place to find information on WellPoint's unique health coaching program, discounts on gym memberships, and health workshops and seminars available exclusively to WellPoint members.

For example, a pregnant woman may use 360 Health's maternity tools to find personalized information on proper nutrition and diet during pregnancy, testing to limit potential risk factors such as diabetes, and information regarding possible exercises. She can also find the names of physicians and hospitals that specialize in high risk pregnancies or register for a dedicated registered nurse to consult for information throughout her pregnancy. After delivery, the dedicated nurse clinician will continue to be available to provide information about treatment options for conditions such as post-partum depression.

"360 Health's innovation is that it allows our company to focus our resources on the 20 percent of our members who are most at risk, while improving the effectiveness of health and wellness programs for the remaining 80 percent," said Kennedy. "Our members will now have access to a fully integrated health improvement program that is backed by the knowledge and resources of WellPoint's unparalleled network of health care professionals."

About WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint, Inc. is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States. WellPoint, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross 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. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/ .

WellPoint, Inc.

CONTACT: Media: Shannon Troughton, +1-404-842-8457,shannon.troughton@wellpoint.com; Investor Relations: Wayne S. DeVeydt,+1-317-488-6390, both of WellPoint, Inc.

Web site: http://www.wellpoint.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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