WellPoint, Inc. : WellPoint Moves up to No. 34 on the 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity® List

Company Also Places Sixth in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity^®

WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) has moved up to number 34 on The 2012 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® list released this week. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity is the leading assessment of strategic diversity management leadership.

The company also received a special award for placing sixth in The DiversityInc Top 10 Companies for Supplier Diversity. WellPoint has been a leader in diversity for a number of years, and during that time, the company's supplier diversity efforts have grown.

"Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is an extension of our mission: To improve the lives of the people we serve and the health of our communities," affirmed Angela Braly, chair, president and CEO of WellPoint. "The diverse backgrounds and perspectives of our associates help us understand and meet the needs of consumers, doctors and hospitals, and our communities."

"A long-time diversity leader with strong support at the top, WellPoint has made major efforts to reach out to its increasingly multicultural marketplace," said Luke Visconti, CEO of DiversityInc. "The company's resource groups and talent-development initiatives have shown marked improvement. Chair, President and CEO Angela Braly holds her executives accountable for diversity results, and Chief Diversity Officer Linda Jimenez is a visible and forceful internal and external spokesperson for the benefits of diversity."

"For WellPoint, diversity and inclusion truly give us a competitive advantage, helping us drive superior health care value," asserted Linda Jimenez, chief diversity office and vice president, diversity and inclusion. "We know that talent shines brightest in a collaborative environment. Our inclusive culture encourages associates to bring ideas and passion to their job and work together to develop culturally competent products and services that resonate with our members."

"WellPoint's commitment to work with a wide range of diverse suppliers is a major focal point of our diversity strategy," said Brenda Burke, director of supplier diversity for WellPoint. The company is a founding partner of the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) Supplier Diversity Program, which supports vendors with disabilities. And, last year, WellPoint was inducted into the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Million Dollar Club and had a representative elected to the National Minority Supplier Development Council board of directors.

To qualify for The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity, participating companies must have more than 1,000 employees and must fill out a detailed questionnaire based completely on empirical questions on CEO commitment, human capital, internal and external communications, and supplier diversity. A total of 587 companies participated this year, up 11 percent from last year.

To see the full ranking of The 2011 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity as well as more information on the methodology, visit www.DiversityInc.com/top50.

About WellPoint, Inc.

At WellPoint, we believe there is an important connection between our members' health and well-being--and the value we bring our customers and shareholders. So each day we work to improve the health of our members and their communities. And, we can make a real difference since we have nearly 34 million people in our branded health plans, and more than 62 million people served through our 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 and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare and in certain California, Arizona and Nevada markets through our CareMore subsidiary. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com. For more information about WellPoint's diversity and corporate responsibility efforts, see the company's Corporate Responsibility Report.

WellPoint, Inc.
Media Contact:
Rebecca Green, 404-682-9371
rebecca.green@wellpoint.com

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