Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina Win a Department of Defense Subcontract.

FLORENCE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 27, 1996--Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina has won a Department of Defense subcontract for claims processing and data administration for 16 states.

Blue Cross will act as subcontractor in partnership with a consortium of Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans, Sierra Health System and the University of Colorado Hospital System. The contract for the military's TRICARE program provides health benefits for 1 million active duty dependents and retirees in the region.

According to Bill Meyer, Blue Cross senior vice president, the contract award will preserve over 300 existing jobs and add an additional 40 new positions. "We are the current claims administrators for most of these states," Meyer said. "The Defense Department has been restructuring the program by implementing managed care rebidding all regions as the come up for renewal. The new managed care program, called TRICARE, allows military families and retirees to choose from three forms of coverage with varying costs and out-of-pocket expenses. This is consistent with what's happening with health coverage in the private sector," he explained.

Meyer said that the subcontract work will bring in nearly $100 million in revenues for Blue Cross over the next five years. Claims processing and data administration for the contract are scheduled to begin this winter.

"We are extremely excited to retain this contract and by the chance to offer more good jobs to South Carolinians," Meyer said. The states covered by the new contract include Montana, Idaho, Iowa, Nevada, Utah, South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, Wyoming, Colorado, Missouri and part of Texas.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina is one of the nation's largest government healthcare programs administrators. It provides claims processing, customer service and information systems technologies for managed care companies, hospital and physician organizations and the federal government. In 1996, the company expects to process over 45 million TRICARE and Medicare claims with benefits payments of over $10 billion.

Currently, the company holds 15 TRICARE and Medicare contracts and employs over 4,000 people in its government programs operations in Columbia, Camden, Florence and Surfside Beach.

CONTACT: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

Donna Thorne, 803/788-0222 ext. 42437