WellPoint: Hayden, president of state sponsored business division, appointed vice-chair to Board of Medicaid Health Plans of America

INDIANAPOLIS – December 8, 2010 — WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) today announced that Kevin R. Hayden, president of its State Sponsored Business division, was appointed as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Medicaid Health Plans of America (MHPA) effective January 1, 2011.

MHPA is the leading trade association solely focused on representing Medicaid health plans. Comprised of appointed representatives from its member plans, the Board of Directors jointly oversees the activities of MHPA and governs MHPA by establishing its policies and objectives. The Board is also central in setting health policy for MHPA.

“With the recent passage of health care reform, Medicaid will provide more Americans with access to health care services,” said Hayden. “Today more than ever, Medicaid Health Plans of America will play a critical role in fostering a dialogue among health plans about effectively designing and implementing programs that provide greater access to quality health care services. I am pleased to join this esteemed group of thought leaders at this pivotal time in our nation.”

“We are proud to have Kevin assume this leadership role on MHPA’s Board and are excited for the work he’ll be doing with our new Center for Best Practices,” said Thomas L. Johnson, of MHPA’s President and CEO. “His years of service in helping improve health outcomes for our nation’s underserved will prove valuable as MHPA continues its mission of ensuring access to better healthcare.“

At WellPoint, Hayden is responsible for leading the State Sponsored Business division which currently serves nearly 1.8 million Medicaid and CHIP members in 10 states. His career spans more than 23 years in the private and public sectors. Prior to joining WellPoint, he served as Secretary of the Department of Health and Family Services for the State of Wisconsin and was responsible for leading all public health and care delivery services. Hayden also served as the Wisconsin State Medicaid Director, where he was a founder of BadgerCare Plus, an innovative program expanding access to coverage to all children in Wisconsin.

Hayden’s experience in the private sector includes nine years serving as President and Chief Administrative Officer of Dean Health system in Madison, Wisconsin. His areas of expertise include Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), as well as Medicaid population and policy dynamics within the Aged Blind Disabled (ABD) community and Childless Adult segments.

Founded in 1993, the MHPA provides advocacy, research and organized forums that support the development of policy solutions to enhance the delivery of quality health care.

About WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint works to simplify the connection between Health, Care and Value. We help to improve the health of our communities, deliver better care to members, and provide greater value to our customers and shareholders. WellPoint is the nation’s largest health benefits company, with more than 33 million members in its affiliated health plans, and a total of more than 70 million individuals served through all subsidiaries. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves 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.), and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint does business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield or Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves customers throughout much of the country as UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/.

Contacts:

Media

Leslie Porras

(805) 557-6745