INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WellPoint, Inc. announced today the appointment of Joan Kennedy as president of Health Management Corporation (HMC) and senior vice president of WellPoint, Inc. HMC is one of the nation’s leading integrated care management companies and a wholly-owned subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc.
Most recently, Kennedy served as vice president of health services for Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in New York, where she served as a member of the health plan’s executive leadership team and architect of 360o Health(R) -- Empire’s innovative health services strategy and an industry best practice in population-based health care management.
“Joan is a nationally recognized leader in integrated care management and has a demonstrated record of improving member health and return on investment through innovative strategies that address the full continuum of care -- from health and wellness programs to customized services for members with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease,” said Sam Nussbaum, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer of WellPoint, Inc. “This 360-degree approach to managing health will benefit members and customers who are demanding higher quality, more affordable health care.”
At Empire, Kennedy developed and implemented an innovative health services strategy that successfully contained medical costs, improved member health and increased overall client satisfaction. This comprehensive program includes the seamless integration of preventive care, wellness, case management and care coordination services. She has served on the leadership teams of CorSolutions and Oxford Health Plans, where she led the development of integrated care programs that generated significant returns on investment.
Kennedy is a founding member of the Disease Management Association of America and, in 2004, was recognized by Managed Healthcare Executive magazine as one of the top leaders in disease management.
She received a Master of Business Administration degree from The American Graduate School of International Management and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Bates College.
HMC is a leading integrated care management company addressing chronic and complex health conditions that have a dramatic impact on health care outcomes and costs. Through a combination of clinical interventions, innovative technology, advanced predictive models and rigorous evaluation methodology, HMC helps health plans and employers increase self care, improve clinical outcomes and control overall costs.
About WellPoint, Inc.
WellPoint, Inc. is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States. WellPoint, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross 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 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 .
WellPoint, Inc.
CONTACT: Media: Laura Stallman of WellPoint, +1-317-488-6417; Lori Whiteof HMC, +1-804-678-0088; or Investor Relations: Wayne S. DeVeydt ofWellPoint, +1-317-488-6390
Web site: http://www.wellpoint.com/
