Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield unveiled a comprehensive plan today to address the growing ranks of the uninsured in the United States. The plan is a blend of public and private initiatives aimed at ensuring universal coverage for children and providing new and more attractive options for the working uninsured. The plan calls for universal coverage for children up to 300% of the Federal Poverty Level, improving and expanding public programs for the most needy where necessary, and providing a bridge to self-sufficiency for the working uninsured.

“This plan underscores our willingness to work collaboratively with both the public and private sectors to solve the problem of the uninsured in this country,” said Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield President Erin Hoeflinger.

The plan closely parallels many of the uninsured initiatives underway in Maine. “Maine has led the way with the Dirigo Health initiative and its earlier steps to expand Medicaid,” said Hoeflinger. She noted that Maine has increased Medicaid coverage to 200% of the federal poverty level (FPL) for both children and parents of children and expanded Medicaid coverage up to 100% of FPL for single adults. DirigoChoice, a partnership between the State and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, provides subsidized health insurance premiums for small business as well as individuals with incomes below 300% of FPL. “The success of these approaches is demonstrated by Maine’s lower than average uninsured rate,” said Hoeflinger.

The plan recommends providing premium assistance to uninsured citizens who choose a commercially available insurance product, an approach consistent with the goals of Dirigo Health and endorsed by a coalition comprised of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Hospital Association and the Maine Association of Health Plans.

Maine has one of the lowest percentages of uninsured in the U.S. but an estimated 130,000 Maine people still lack any form of health insurance according to the US Census Bureau.

The plan calls for the federal government to support the expansion of health care programs such as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to cover more of the 9 million children (an estimated 19,000 in Maine) who went without coverage last year. Specifically, the plan urges expansion of the federal SCHIP program to cover children in families that earn up to 300 percent of FPL. The plan also includes a call to enroll the majority of uninsured children – up to 70 percent nationally – who are already eligible for public programs but not covered.

The plan lays out how a number of innovative public-private partnership opportunities can be used to create a bridge to self-sufficiency for individuals who do not qualify for public programs. For instance, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield supports the expansion of premium assistance programs for families that may need extra help paying for their private insurance such as DirigoChoice, as well as creation of a state high risk pool to help provide coverage for those who have difficulty purchasing insurance in the individual market.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is also committed to continue bringing innovative products to the marketplace that are tailored specifically to groups that have traditionally foregone health insurance. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has partnered with the State of Maine’s Dirigo Health Agency to provide DirigoChoice health insurance, now in its third year, and, more recently, with the business community through the Maine State Chamber of Commerce to offer Chamber BlueOptions, an innovative suite of insurance plans for small businesses and the self-employed.

“This year more than 380,000 previously uninsured individuals nationally found health care security for the first time through one of our company’s individual products. We will continue to develop innovative and affordable products that appeal to individuals and small businesses and continue to help reduce the ranks of the uninsured,” said Jude Thompson, senior vice president of Individual Business. “But we recognize that additional measures are required to provide that same health security to all Americans.”

“In many respects, initiatives already underway in Maine demonstrate the effectiveness of the public-private partnership called for in this plan,” said Hoeflinger. “Our innovative partnerships with the State of Maine on DirigoChoice and with the State Chamber of Commerce on Chamber BlueOptions are helping more individuals and small businesses afford health insurance.”

“In order to reach more of the uninsured, it’s critical that Congress allocate more resources to the states in effective programs like SCHIP and support premium assistance programs that help the uninsured buy commercially available health insurance products,” Hoeflinger concluded.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine is an operating subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP). WellPoint’s mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of commercial membership in the United States. Through its nationwide networks, the company delivers a number of leading health benefit solutions through a broad portfolio of integrated health care plans and related services, along with a wide range of specialty products such as life and disability insurance benefits, pharmacy benefit management, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, as well as long term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, WellPoint 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 (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

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Contact: Mark Ishkanian at Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield (207) 822-8454

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