WellPoint honored for its "Journey Forward" initiative

WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) was recognized today as a 2009 BlueWorks® award winner. BlueWorks is a unique partnership between the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) and the Harvard Medical School Department of Health Care Policy that honors health care innovation that improves the quality and value of health care for consumers.

Harvard researchers evaluate and select programs offered by Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield companies for recognition based on innovation, efficacy and the potential for replication.

BCBSA and the Harvard Medical School selected WellPoint because of its work with Journey Forward, which promotes physician and patient understanding of the post-treatment effects of cancer. By facilitating the development of a survivorship care plan, the program aims to improve continuity and coordination of care for cancer survivors throughout their lives. Journey Forward is a collaboration among the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), the UCLA Cancer Survivorship Center, Genentech, Inc. and WellPoint.

"WellPoint is committed to working with other health care partners to develop innovative programs and services that improve the health of our communities and consumers," said Angela F. Braly, president and CEO, WellPoint, Inc. "Through collaborative efforts like Journey Forward, we can help physicians, members and insurers work together toward short-term and long-term treatment plans that help ensure the most appropriate health care services for each patient."

Journey Forward was successfully implemented this year in WellPoint-affiliated health plans in California, Colorado, Maine, Nevada and New Hampshire. This pilot reached more than 40,000 primary care providers, oncology specialists and members. Later this year, Journey Forward will be rolled out in Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Virginia and Wisconsin. Journey Forward information and materials are available to any provider, member or interested party - regardless of geography or health plan affiliation - through www.JourneyForward.org.

This first-of-its-kind program was created in response to recommendations by the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which concluded in a November 2005 report that "the consequences of cancer and its treatment are substantial" and largely unmet. The report says many cancer survivors are "lost in transition" from active treatment to survivorship, with few clues about how to manage their follow-up care and about the physical and mental health problems that may result from their treatment.

"WellPoint should be applauded for its efforts to improve the quality of health care for consumers," said Scott P. Serota, BCBSA president and CEO. "Journey Forward is a prime example of the great work that Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are doing to drive health and wellness and make navigating health care choices easier for consumers."

Since the inception of the BlueWorks program in 2004, Harvard has recognized 58 programs offered by Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield companies. For more information about this and other Harvard-recognized programs that have been awarded the BlueWorks distinction, please visit http://www.bcbs.com/innovations/blueworks/.