WellPoint's National Government Services Subsidiary Teams With Northrop Grumman on Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Fraud Prevention System Task Order

INDIANAPOLIS, July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) announced today that its National Government Services (NGS) subsidiary is partnering with Northrop Grumman to provide information technology support to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) National Fraud Prevention Program.

The National Fraud Prevention Program will be implemented by the Center for Program Integrity (CPI) within CMS. CPI will manage the prevention and detection of fraud, waste, abuse and other improper payments under the Medicare program.

The Predictive Modeling Development task order was awarded to Northrop Grumman with a potential value of $77 million over one year with three, one-year option periods.

"I'm delighted that NGS is partnering with Northrop Grumman to support this important CMS initiative, which validates the dedication of all National Government Services associates to seek new opportunities that expand our business," noted company President Sandra Miller.

CMS expects to launch the National Fraud Prevention Program by implementing a Fraud Prevention System capable of identifying high-risk claims and an integrated case management system that manages alerts.

As a subcontractor to Northrop Grumman, NGS will provide Medicare Fee-for-Service expertise, development of algorithms for fraud prevention, and hosting of information technology and infrastructure. Verizon, a fellow teammate, will provide a software platform – a customized version of the platform it uses for its own fraud detection programs – incorporating predictive modeling technology.

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.

About National Government Services, Inc.

National Government Services, Inc. contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to administer Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), home health and hospice, national FQHC and Part B (medical insurance) contracts and the Jurisdiction B durable medical equipment Medicare administrative contract, serving nearly 160,000 providers and suppliers, and over 22 million people with Medicare in 18 states and five U.S. Territories. National Government Services is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. and has served as a Medicare contractor since 1966.

SOURCE WellPoint, Inc.