Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Selects Anthem Prescription Management to Serve Customers in Virginia.

Business Editors, Health & Medical Writers

RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2003

Anthem Prescription Management has been selected to administer prescription drug benefits for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's 2 million pharmacy members in Virginia. Anthem Prescription, a subsidiary of Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ATH), already provides pharmacy benefits management for Anthem health plan members in other regions.

The transition of Virginia members to Anthem Prescription is expected to take place by the end of the fourth quarter 2003, when the company's current contract with Medco Health Solutions/PAID expires.

"One of the benefits of being part of the Anthem family is that we now have the capability to bring this very important function in-house," said Tom Snead, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Southeast region. "We believe this decision will enable us to make our strong pharmacy program even stronger, as we more fully integrate our service delivery and pharmacy management functions with our total benefits program."

"We look forward to welcoming Anthem Southeast's region into the Anthem Prescription family," said James Lang, Pharm.D., president, Anthem Prescription. "While Anthem Prescription gains nearly 2 million new customers, Anthem members in the Southeast will benefit from the addition of Anthem Prescription's innovative programs and services to their already strong portfolio of programs, such as Drug Therapy Alerts and Prescribing Value, that help manage both cost trends and health outcomes. Anthem Prescription offers an in-house mail service pharmacy and a strong focus on medication safety."

The majority of pharmacies in Anthem's network already participate with Anthem Prescription, and the company also has a broad network of pharmacies across the country, including the major pharmacy chains. When Anthem members travel out of state, they will have access to more than 50,000 participating pharmacies across the United States.

"Our partnership with Medco has helped us deliver value to our customers for more than a decade," Snead said. "Now we look forward to leveraging the value of our pharmacy program even further through the unique alignment an in-house pharmacy benefit company brings."

The Commonwealth of Virginia pharmacy benefit plan, which is governed by a separate contract, will continue to be administered by Medco Health Solutions.

Anthem Prescription Management has received the Excellence in Pharmaceutical Care Award from the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association for its member-focused quality initiatives that resulted in measurable improvements in member health. Anthem Prescription is also certified as Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site for its online pharmacy, available at www.anthemprescription.com.

Anthem Prescription Management, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem Inc. and serves 4.5 million customers nationwide. Anthem Prescription is a national pharmacy program manager serving many Anthem health plan members as well as other health plans and employer groups across the United States. More information about Anthem Prescription Management is available online.

About Anthem

Anthem Inc. is an Indiana-domiciled publicly traded company that, through its subsidiary companies, provides health care benefits to more than 11 million people. Anthem is the fifth largest publicly traded health benefits company in the United States and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Colorado, Nevada, Maine and Virginia, excluding the immediate suburbs of Washington, D.C. As of December 31, 2002, Anthem had assets of more than $12 billion and operating revenue of approximately $13 billion. More information about Anthem is available at www.anthem.com.