WellPoint, BCBSA, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and HCSC Collaborate to Expand...

WellPoint, BCBSA, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida and HCSC Collaborate to
Expand Access to Health Care Cost Information
Blue plans in Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas to launch Care
Comparison for members; BCBSA selects Care Comparison as standard methodology
for Blue Plans

INDIANAPOLIS, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP), Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Florida and Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which
operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma
and Texas, today announced plans to collaborate to provide access to
WellPoint's cost comparison tool, an online, consumer-friendly health care
cost information tool. With this expansion, more than 48 million Americans
will have access to valuable cost information.

"We developed this transparency tool in 2006 for use by members in our health
plans, with the goal of creating well-informed consumers of health care," said
Angela Braly, president and CEO, WellPoint, Inc. "We are pleased to be working
with other Blue companies so that even more members can have access to clear,
concise health cost information in major cities across the country."

"One of the most important ways that we as health insurers can add value to
the health care system is by analyzing and providing access to meaningful
information," said Paul Handel, MD, chief medical officer for HCSC. "This
easy-to-access online tool will help our members increase their knowledge as
patients and identify opportunities to spend their health care dollars more
wisely."

Using Care Comparison, the name of the tool to be used by the Blue companies,
these Blue companies will provide the total estimated cost ranges associated
with approximately 35 specific medical procedures performed at more than 2,800
local hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, free-standing radiology
facilities or other medical facilities.

The estimated cost ranges provided through Care Comparison are based on
combining related services typically performed at each facility at the time of
the procedure, not just the procedure itself. In addition, the cost ranges are
facility-specific so members can compare the differences in cost between area
facilities. Ranges of health care cost information will initially be rolled
out on a limited basis in each of these states.

"In today's retail environment, consumers are becoming more involved in
managing their health care - that is not easy in a complex system," said Craig
Thomas, chief marketing officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida.
"Providing detailed cost and quality information through Care Comparison and
our full service contact points allows us to partner with our members and
providers to help them make effective and cost-efficient decisions. We feel
this type of service and information is essential to the future of our
nation's health care system."

Additionally, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has selected
Care Comparison as its platform for a national transparency solution for all
Blue Plans. BCBSA will use the treatment categories and cost methodology as
the core component for its consumer-facing online cost estimation tool.

"Our adoption of Care Comparison as the Blues' system-wide methodology for
provider data transparency is our latest effort to give our customers the
information they need to make the best health care decisions," Scott Serota,
President and CEO of BCBSA, said. BCBSA will continue to refine and enhance
the transparency tool under the guidance of the Care Comparison Steering
Committee, which will include representatives from Blue plans across the
country.

This arrangement enables BCBSA, WellPoint's affiliated health plans and other
Blue plans to continue to work with physicians and facilities to provide
members with meaningful health care cost data. In turn, members can make more
informed choices about their health and health care spending. The tool will be
customized to reflect the local ownership and health plan in each state, but
members will have access to the same information from all states involved with
the program.

About WellPoint, Inc.:
WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of medical
membership in the United States. 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 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.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare.
Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

About HCSC:
Health Care Service Corporation is the country's largest customer-owned health
insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall, with 12.4 million members
in its Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and
Texas. A Mutual Legal Reserve Company, HCSC is an independent licensee of the
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. HCSC has a rating of AA- (Very Strong)
from Standard and Poor's, Aa3 (Excellent) from Moody's and A+ (Superior) from
A.M. Best Company. For more information, visit www.HCSC.com.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida:
Celebrating 65 years as Florida's leader in the health industry, Blue Cross
and Blue Shield of Florida is mission-driven to improve affordable access to
health care. BCBSF is a not-for-profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual
company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., BCBSF is an independent licensee
of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent
Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information about BCBSF, please
visit www.bcbsfl.com.

About BCBSA:
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 39
independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield
companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for more than 100
million individuals - one-in-three Americans. For more information on the Blue
Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit
www.BCBS.com.

SOURCE WellPoint, Inc.

Cheryl Uram Leamon, WellPoint, +1-317-488-6748; Ross Blackstone, HCSC,
+1-972-766-1735; Lauralee Shapiro, BCBSF, +1-904-905-0461; Paul Cholette,
BCBSA, +1-312-297-5954