INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WellPoint, Inc. announced today that its subsidiary, AdminaStar Federal, one of the nation’s largest Medicare contractors, has been awarded the Durable Medical Equipment Medicare Administrative Contract (DME MAC) for geographic jurisdiction B (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin). This contract is for the administration of Medicare claims from suppliers of durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies.
The DME MAC awards represent the first of the full and open Medicare Administrative Contract (MAC) competitions awarded by the CMS. The new DME MACs were selected through a competitive bidding process. The new contracts awarded represent a first step in CMS’ initiatives designed to improve service to beneficiaries and providers, support the delivery of coordinated and quality care, and provide greater administrative efficiency and effectiveness for fee-for-service Medicare. The new contract becomes effective July 2006.
AdminaStar Federal has a primary mission -- To Serve the Medicare Community. This mission mirrors the needs of its customer, CMS, who awarded the contracts to companies who offered the best overall value to the government. Best value includes; cost effective solutions, technical qualifications, strong past performance, corporate responsibility, and an understanding of the special requirements involved in processing claims for durable medical equipment.
About AdminaStar Federal
The new DME MAC environment offers AdminaStar Federal the opportunity to serve more than 7.3 million persons with Medicare and nearly 23,000 suppliers/providers in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. For more information about AdminaStar Federal, visit the company Web site at http://www.adminastar.com .
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 .
For more information concerning the DME MAC awards go to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MedicareContractingReform/
WellPoint, Inc.
CONTACT: Michael D. Davis of AdminaStar Federal, External Affairs,+1-317-595-4891; Media: James P. Kappel, +1-317-488-6400, or InvestorRelations: Tami Durle, +1-317-488-6390, both of WellPoint, Inc.
