Blue Cross of California and Columbia/HCA Have Reached Agreement on Long-Term Contract.

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 1, 1998--Blue Cross of California, the California subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc. (NYSE:WLP), and Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. of San Jose, Calif., have reached agreement to provide quality medical services to Blue Cross members.

The announcement comes on the heels of long-term agreements that Blue Cross has signed recently with other hospitals and hospital systems. These include Tenet Healthcare Corp. with 43 facilities, Adventist Health with 14 hospitals, UniHealth with six facilities and Sutter Health with 23 hospitals, as well as Hoag Memorial Hospital and Loma Linda University Medical Center.

The contract negotiating process is a continuing one that has proven to be very successful, allowing Blue Cross to create one of the largest provider networks in the state. The terms of these multiyear agreements reiterate a commitment to Blue Cross' hospital network and demonstrate the companywide commitment to ensuring that Blue Cross members have access to the most cost-effective, quality medical care.

The Columbia/HCA agreement was reached amid current negotiations with Catholic Healthcare West that have been stalled due to differences in various contract provisions that include reimbursement rates.

"We are very pleased to have reached a multiyear agreement with Columbia/HCA," said Andrew Allocco, Blue Cross senior vice president of network management and development. "Columbia/HCA is one of the most reputable hospital systems that continue to deliver high-quality patient care. Columbia/HCA's hospitals help us to best serve our membership that grew by 774,000 members alone in 1997.

"These new agreements also are beneficial to us as well as our clients," added Allocco. "They allow us to establish predictable cost trends to determine premiums while giving large employers the opportunity to project benefit costs for their employees."

"We are pleased that Blue Cross of California agreed to terms, particularly a reimbursement arrangement, that allows us to continue to provide the high level of patient care that Blue Cross members have come to expect from Columbia/HCA hospitals," said Helen M. Robbins, Columbia/HCA vice president of managed care.

Blue Cross of California, with nearly 4.4 million medical members, is the California operating subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., one of the nation's largest publicly traded managed-care companies. Based in Woodland Hills, WellPoint serves the health-care needs of approximately 6.7 million medical and nearly 22 million specialty members nationally.

WellPoint offers a broad spectrum of quality health plans provided through health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations and specialty managed-care networks. Specialty products include pharmacy benefit management, dental, vision, mental health, life and disability insurance, flexible spending accounts, COBRA administration, Medicare supplements, and 24-hour integrated network-based, workers' compensation coverage.

Columbia/HCA owns and operates more than 330 hospitals and other health-care facilities with approximately 60,000 licensed beds in 36 states, England and Switzerland.

    CONTACT: Cynthia Coulter, 818/703-3406