Wellpoint (WLP)

Profile

Exchange: NYSE       Sector: Healthcare       Industry: Health Care Plans

WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health plan company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The company is licensed to conduct insurance operations in all 50 states. WellPoint offers network-based managed care plans to the large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and senior markets. The company also provides an array of specialty and other products and services, including life and disability insurance benefits, pharmacy benefit management (PBM), specialty pharmacy, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, radiology benefit management, analytics-driven personal health care guidance, long-term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. It markets its products through a network of independent agents and brokers, as well as through in-house sales force. 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. The company was founded in 1944 and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.