WellPoint Named as a 2011 BEST DIVERSITY COMPANY

INDIANAPOLIS, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) has been recognized by the readers of Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology as a 2011 BEST DIVERSITY COMPANY. WellPoint ranked at the top of the list for its support of minorities and women, attention to work/life balance and commitment to supplier diversity.

"Flexibility is particularly important within the diverse technical community. Promoting a work environment and corporate culture that values work-life balance is an essential component of our efforts to foster the advancement and success of women and minorities in our organization," said Andrew Lang, WellPoint's chief information officer.

Diversity/Careers magazine readers and website visitors voted in March and April of 2011 in the fifth annual Best Diversity Companies Readers' Survey. Their votes identified corporations, government agencies and other organizations – all U.S. employers of technical professionals – that are doing the best work for diversity. The voters' choices were based on their perceptions, formed by their own experiences, their conversations with others, or what they have read. Readers were asked to affirm the status of organizations that were previously recognized as BEST DIVERSITY COMPANIES. Voters were also given the opportunity to include new organizations whose diversity initiatives were particularly striking.

According to Brenda Burke, WellPoint's director of supplier diversity, "We seek to include diverse suppliers in each bidding opportunity, and our supplier diversity program has continued to grow each year. To achieve this growth, WellPoint supports diverse-owned business advocacy groups and facilitates introductions and mentoring between diverse-owned suppliers and leaders within the company."

"At WellPoint, our inclusive culture encourages employees to bring new ideas to work," said Linda Jimenez, chief diversity officer and VP – diversity and inclusion. "By sharing diverse perspectives, we can work together to develop innovative health information technology that helps improve the lives of our members and the health of our communities."

For more information about the 2011 BEST DIVERSITY COMPANIES go to www.diversitycareers.com.

About WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint works to simplify the connection between Health, Care and Value. We help to improve the health of our members and our communities, and provide greater value to our customers and shareholders. WellPoint is the nation's largest health benefits company in terms of medical membership, with 34 million members in its affiliated health plans, and a total of more than 70 million individuals served through its subsidiaries.  As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves 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 the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), and Wisconsin.  In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint's plans do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in the New York service areas).  WellPoint also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

SOURCE WellPoint, Inc.