Anthem Blue Cross 2007 Annual Report Download - page 5

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3
WellPoint, Inc. 2007 Summary Annual Report
reduced our general and administrative
costs by more than $175 million, even
as we provided more services to more
members. In addition, we added 708,000
new members, including an estimated
365,000 who previously were uninsured.
In 2007 WellPoint led our industry in
nding new ways to improve the health
care system. For example, we made our
affordable consumer-driven health plans
available to members across the country.
To make information on the cost and
quality of health care more transparent,
we expanded tools like Anthem Care
Comparison and MyHealth Advantage, and
partnered with Zagat Survey® to develop
an online tool that enables members to
rate their physician experiences.
2008 and beyond
On March 10, 2008, WellPoint announced
a revised outlook for this year’s  nancial
performance. We did this for two reasons:
rst, we saw that medical costs in the  rst
two months of 2008 were trending higher
than anticipated. Second, while our total
medical membership continues to grow,
our fully insured membership is lower
than planned.
These trends are, to a degree,
exacerbated by the effects of the slowing
national economy. Regardless, we will
continue to hold ourselves accountable
for improving our performance in the face
of these challenges.
Despite our revised outlook, we expect
2008 to be a record year at WellPoint,
including more members than ever and
the highest earnings per share we’ve
ever generated. And we are committed
to continuous investment in our products
and services.
WellPoint’s leadership team is fully
committed to maintaining a sharp focus
on the fundamentals of our business
while creating an unparalleled health care
experience for consumers. We are also
vigorously advocating policy solutions
that will continue to make health care
coverage accessible to and affordable
for all Americans.
At WellPoint, we know that our future
success depends on putting our customers
rst, earning their trust and loyalty each
and every day.
That is why we are here, and that is
what we will continue to do.
Angela F. Braly
President and Chief Executive Of cer
ANGELA F. BRALY
:: President and Chief Executive Of cer
our future success
depends on putting our customers  rst.”