Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield To Offer Management of Behavioral Health Benefits in 2007

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INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio will expand member services to include the management of behavioral health benefits in 2007 through their parent company's behavioral health services division. Currently, Anthem contracts with an outside company to manage these benefits -- such as psychiatry and social work -- for more than 2.4 million members in these states. In order to provide streamlined and enhanced services for members, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is creating an integrated model whereby behavioral and health benefits will be managed concurrently. "As part of the nation's largest health benefits company, we are uniquely positioned to develop and offer a wide range of products, services and programs to help improve the lives of the people we serve," said Bob McIntire, Senior Vice President of Health Care Management for the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans. "Integrating the management of physical and mental health benefits will allow us to directly contribute to the well-being of our members in more ways than we do today." Beginning April 1, 2007, Anthem will offer a robust behavioral health network that will cover the entire spectrum of mental health and substance abuse professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, and other behavioral health professionals. The network will also include facilities offering a range of services in various settings, such as psychiatric hospitals, alternative treatment programs, and outpatient facilities. "We are committed to working with our members -- especially those who are utilizing behavioral health services -- and with physicians, hospitals and health care professionals to share the additional details of our new services and to make this transition as seamless and effortless as possible for them," added McIntire. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP). WellPoint's mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of commercial membership in the United States. Through its nationwide networks, the company delivers a number of leading health benefit solutions through a broad portfolio of integrated health care plans and related services, along with a wide range of specialty products such as life and disability insurance benefits, pharmacy benefit management, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, as well as long term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, 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 and surrounding counties and as Blue Cross 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/ . DATASOURCE: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield CONTACT: Indiana: Tony Felts, +1-317-287-6036, , Kentucky: Christi Lanier-Robinson, +1-502-889-3167, , or Ohio: Kim Ashley, +1-513-682-8863, , all of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Web site: http://www.wellpoint.com/

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield To Offer Management of Behavioral Health Benefits in 2007

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield To Offer Management of Behavioral Health Benefits in 2007

Wellpoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP)Historical Stock Chart

Wellpoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP)
Historical Stock Chart