Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Georgia Joins Virginia's Anthem Blue Cross And Blue Shield To Form Expanded Southeast Region; Tom Snead Named President and CEO.

RICHMOND, Va. -- With the completion of the merger of Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks to create WellPoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia joins Virginia's Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in the new company's Southeast Region.

Tom Snead, who was president of Anthem's Southeast Region prior to the merger, has been tapped to lead the expanded region as president and CEO.

"Tom Snead has not only been a leader in improving quality, customer service and affordability in Virginia, he has also been a champion of best practices across our company," said WellPoint Inc. president and CEO Larry Glasscock in naming Snead to his new post. "His collaborative approach and his customer focus will enhance our ability to serve our 6 million members in the Southeast."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has 2.8 million members in Virginia, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia serves 3.2 million members.

"The Georgia and Virginia plans are two strong companies that share a common commitment to customers, as well as a history of market and community leadership," Snead said. "We have a great opportunity to work together to continue to improve the quality of health care in our region, while at the same time introducing innovative, affordable products and delivering the distinctive service that our members in the Southeast expect and deserve."

Snead will work closely with Caz Matthews, president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, to identify and share the best from both companies across the region.

"We recognize the importance of local decision making in local markets in creating distinction and value for customers," Snead said. "At the same time, Virginia and Georgia share many similarities, and if we find that something works well for customers in one market, we want to explore its possibilities for serving customers in other markets."

"I am very excited about WellPoint's future," said Glasscock. "Tom and Caz are a big part of our vision to transform health care for our 28 million members. By sharing and adopting best practices to increase customer value and leveraging our scale to manage costs, we will be better able to keep quality health care affordable for our customers."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia is an operating subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. which is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States. WellPoint, Inc. 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, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia, excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., Wisconsin; and through HealthLink and UNICARE.