WellPoint Executive Leads Authorship of Latino Health Care Report

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE: WLP) announced today that its senior vice president of health care management West Region, Josh Valdez, DBA has led an influential Latino committee that recently released a comprehensive national report about improving access to health care and representation in the health professions among Latinos.

In his role as chairman of the committee, Valdez oversaw the development of "Strategies for Improving Latino Health Care in America," a set of health care findings and recommendations released Sept. 14 by the Health Care Taskforce of the Latino Coalition, a public policy organization in Washington, D.C.

"My lifetime work has been devoted to helping others improve their quality of life through increased access to health care," said Valdez, who was appointed to chair the Health Care Taskforce in June 2005. "I expect this report to be a transformational work, to make a difference in the Latino community."

Latinos comprise the largest group of uninsured in the U.S., with more than one-third lacking coverage and only 25% of Latino workers accessing employee-sponsored benefits. Latinos are also underrepresented in the health professions. Although they comprise 14% of the U.S. population, just 3% of nurses and 4% of physicians are Latinos.

The report's recommendations include a national strategic plan for Latino health improvement; expanding market-based options, such as tax credits for small employers, to increase the number of insured; and expanding financial aid options for minority students wishing to enter the health care profession.

"We are honored that Josh Valdez is able to participate in shaping what will be a critical health care policy for the coming decades," said David S. Helwig, WellPoint executive vice president, president and chief executive officer of the West Region. "We are confident the data presented will help provide policymakers and health care providers with valuable information to better understand these critical health issues and provide a roadmap to improving the lives of millions of residents."

A veteran of the first Gulf War, Valdez began his health care career in the U.S. Air Force. He spent nearly a decade working in military hospitals and clinics in California, Texas and overseas.

Prior to joining WellPoint in 2003, Valdez served as director of Region IX for the United States Department of Health and Human Services. From 1995 to 2001 he served as vice president of operations, chief financial officer and executive director for various medical groups in California.

Valdez resides in Thousand Oaks, California with his family and is very active with a number of community groups including the Hollenbeck Youth Center located in East Los Angeles.

About WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint's mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest health benefits company in terms of commercial membership in the United States. Through its nationwide networks, the company delivers a number of leading health benefit solutions through a broad portfolio of integrated health care plans and related services, along with a wide range of specialty products such as life and disability insurance benefits, pharmacy benefit management, dental, vision, behavioral health benefit services, as well as long term care insurance and flexible spending accounts. Headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, 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, 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 and surrounding counties and as Blue Cross 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. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/ .