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Death panels are real. They're run by WellPoint.

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+Death panels are real.  They're run by WellPoint.
-{{pp-vandalism|expiry=May 15, 2010}}
-{{Infobox_Company |
-  company_name   = WellPoint Inc.|
-  company_logo   = [[Image:Wellpoint logo.jpg]]|
-  company_type   = [[Public company|Public]] ({{NYSE|WLP}})|
-  foundation     = [[Anthem (insurance)|Anthem Insurance]] and WellPoint Health Networks merger in 2004|
-  location       = [[Indianapolis, Indiana]], [[USA]]|
-  key_people     = [[Angela Braly]] - President & [[CEO]]|
-  num_employees  = 42,000+|
-  industry       = [[Health Insurance]]|
-  products       = [[Blue Cross]] [[Blue Shield]]|
- revenue = {{profit}} [[United States Dollar|US$]]61.3 Billion <small>(''FY 2009'')</small><ref name = 09IncomeStatement>[[wikinvest:stock/WellPoint Health Networks (WLP)/Data/Income Statement|WellPoint Health Networks (WLP) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest]]</ref> |
- net_income     = {{profit}} [[United States Dollar|US$]]2.49 Billion <small>(''FY 2009'')</small><ref name= 09IncomeStatement/> |
- assets     = {{decrease}} [[United States dollar|US$]]48.4 Billion <small>(''FY 2009'')</small><ref name = 09BalanceSheet>[[wikinvest:stock/WellPoint Health Networks (WLP)/Data/Balance Sheet|WellPoint Health Networks (WLP) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest]]</ref>|
- equity     = {{decrease}} [[United States dollar|US$]]21.4 Billion <small>(''FY 2009'')</small><ref name = 09BalanceSheet/>|
-  homepage       = [http://www.wellpoint.com/ www.wellpoint.com]|
-}}
-[[File:WellPoint, Inc., Monument Circle, Indianapolis at Night.jpg|thumb|Company headquarters on [[Monument Circle]] in Indianapolis]]
-'''WellPoint, Inc.''' is the largest health plan company in the [[Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association]].  It was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. merged into Anthem, Inc., with the surviving Anthem adopting the name, WellPoint, Inc. and began trading its common stock under the WLP symbol on December 1, 2004.
-On April 13, 2009 it was announced that WellPoint had reached a definitive agreement under which [[St. Louis]] based [[Express Scripts]] will acquire WellPoint's NextRx subsidiaries for $4.675 billion.<ref>*[http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=69641&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1275340&highlight= Express Scripts Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire WellPoint NextRx Subsidiaries for $4.675 Billion]</ref>
-Express Scripts, the United States' third largest [[Pharmacy Benefit Management]] organization, is expected to officially close the transaction in the second quarter of 2009.
-==Company description==
-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 (U.S. state)|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 counties and as Blue Cross, Blue Shield 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]].  In addition to Blue Cross, the company also operates under the Anthem name.
-WellPoint Inc. spent more than $2.4 million on [[lobbying]] in 2009, according to the nonpartisan [[Center for Responsive Politics]].<ref>http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?lname=Blue+Cross%2FBlue+Shield&year=2009 Center for Responsive Politics, 2009 report</ref>
-==Controversies==
-===Quality of care===
-* In the [http://www.opa.ca.gov/report_card/?utm_source=Wiki-Anthem&utm_medium=QualityofCare&utm_campaign=Wikipedia California Healthcare Quality Report Card 2009 Edition], Anthem received 2 out of 4 stars in Meeting National Standards of Care and How Members Rate Their HMO.<ref>[http://www.opa.ca.gov/report_card/hmorating.aspx?utm_source=Wiki-Anthem&utm_medium=QualityofCare&utm_campaign=Wikipedia State of California - Health Care Quality Report Card 2009 Edition]</ref>
-=== Cancellation of policies ===
-In July 2008, WellPoint subsidiary Anthem Blue Cross agreed to a settlement with the [[Department of Managed Health Care|California Department of Managed Health Care]]. To resolve allegations of improper policy rescissions (cancellations), WellPoint paid $10 million and reinstated 1,770 policy-holders whose plans they had cancelled.  They also agreed to provide compensation for any [[medical debt]]s incurred by these policy-holders in the meantime.  However, WellPoint did not officially admit liability.<ref>
-{{cite news
-|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gDBLyPh2QHiIO7azoVYF9Q2TVRSwD9203RSG2
-|title=2 health insurers to pay $13M to Calif. regulators
-|publisher=AP/Google
-|date=2008-07-18
-|accessdate=2008-07-18
-}}</ref>
-=== Health care reform ===
-In August 2009, WellPoint’s [[Anthem Blue Cross]] unit, the largest for-profit insurer in [[California]], contacted its employees and urged them to get involved to oppose the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]-led Congress' plan for health care reform.  "Regrettably, the congressional legislation, as currently passed by four of the five key committees in Congress, does not meet our definition of responsible and sustainable reform," Anthem said in a company e-mail last week. The proposals would hurt the company by "causing tens of millions of Americans to lose their private coverage and end up in a government-run plan." Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit watchdog organization in Santa Monica has asked California Atty. Gen. [[Jerry Brown]] to investigate its claim that WellPoint Inc. pushed workers to write their elected officials, attend town hall meetings and enlist family and friends to ensure an overhaul that matches the firm’s interests.  According to Consumer Watchdog, California's labor code directly prohibits coercive communications, including forbidding employers from "tending to control or direct" or "coercing or influencing" employees' political activities or affiliations. "WellPoint has not been contacted by the California attorney general and has not seen any complaint; therefore, we cannot respond to any questions at this time,” a company spokesperson said.<ref>http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-insurers-reform3-2009sep03,0,2545747.story  LA Times, WellPoint, United Health accused of illegal actions, 3 Sept 2009</ref>
-The former Vice President for Public Policy and External Affairs at WellPoint, Elizabeth Fowler, is currently the Senior Counsel to [[Max Baucus]], the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and leading opponent of the "public option" in healthcare reform.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33129315/ Fact or fiction? Senate chairman has ties to big insurer</ref>
-=== Premium increases ===
-In 2009, Anthem Health Plans of Maine, a WellPoint subsidiary, sued the state of Maine for the right to increase premiums further.<ref>http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/8735</ref> Since Maine licenses insurance companies through its Department of Insurance, Anthem would need the state's permission to raise rates. The company argues that they needed an 18.5% increase to maintain a 3% profit margin, while the state only approved a 10.9% increase. The state is arguing that the company makes enough profit, and that it should employ cost-cutting measures in a recession. Wellpoint's premiums have increased 400% since the company was made private in 1999. The case was presented on October 7, 2009 in the Courts of Maine.<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/05/wellpoint-subsidiary-figh_n_309529.html</ref>
-In February 2010, WellPoint announced that its [[Anthem Blue Cross]] unit would raise insurance rates for some individual policies in California up to 39%. This announcement released a firestorm of public criticism.  The US Federal and California government regulators are investigating this.<ref>http://rawstory.com/2010/02/blue-cross-hikes-calif-individual-rates-39-percent-obama-admin-demands-justification/</ref>
-=== Giving for uninsured ===
-In 2007, WellPoint pledged to spend $30 million over three years, through the company's charitable foundation, to help those who lack health coverage. In March 2010, the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that WellPoint's tax records and website showed that the company gave only $6.2 million. The company disputed that, saying that the foundation did fulfill its $30-million commitment by mid-2009, declined to provide any financial details to support its position.<ref>{{cite news |work=Los Angeles Times |title=WellPoint's giving for uninsured falls short, records show |author=Noam Levey |date=March 18, 2010 |url=http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wellpoint18-2010mar18,0,7460942,full.story }}</ref>
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
-== Further reading ==
-*International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 25. St. James Press, 1999
-*Anders, George, "Blue Cross of California Sells Stake in WellPoint Health for $476 Million," Wall Street Journal, January 28,  1993.
-*Connolly, Jim, "California Blue Cross Plans to Start For-Profit Sub," National Underwriter Life & Health-Financial Services  Edition, September 14, 1992.
-==External links==
-*Wellpoint Website - [http://www.wellpoint.com www.wellpoint.com]
-*Anthem - [http://www.anthem.com www.anthem.com]
-*Blue Cross of California - [http://www.bluecrossca.com www.bluecrossca.com]
-*Article about unethical practices of Blue Cross of California - [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-bluecross12feb12,0,4319662.story Los Angeles Times]
-*Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia - [http://www.bcbsga.com www.bcbsga.com]
-*Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri - [http://www.bcbsmo.com www.bcbsmo.com]
-*Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin - [http://www.bcbswi.com www.bcbswi.com]
-*Empire BlueCross BlueShield - [http://www.empireblue.com www.empireblue.com]
-*Lumenos, an unlicensed affiliate company - [http://www.lumenos.com www.lumenos.com]
-*Sourcewatch profile - [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WellPoint www.sourcewatch.org]
-*Center for Responsive politics profile (Blue Cross/WellPoint)- [http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?lname=Blue+Cross%2FBlue+Shield&year=2009 www.opensecrets.org]
-[[Category:Companies based in Indianapolis, Indiana]]
-[[Category:Healthcare in the United States]]
-[[Category:Health care companies of the United States]]
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