Blue Cross Appoints Leonor McCall-Rodriguez as Vice President of Emerging Markets; To Collaborate and Lead Efforts in Reaching Ethnic and Uninsured Markets

Business Wire, July 9, 2004

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross), an operating subsidiary of WellPoint (NYSE:WLP), recently appointed Leonor McCall-Rodriguez as vice president of emerging markets for Blue Cross Individual and Small Group Business. In this position, McCall-Rodriguez is responsible for leading efforts internally and externally to develop education and marketing strategies focusing on penetrating ethnic and emerging uninsured markets.

"We very excited to have Leonor join our team," says Deborah Lachman, senior vice president of Individual and Small Group Business for Blue Cross. "Her unique background and experience with ethnic markets will bring great value in enhancing our commitments to reaching the diverse landscape of the communities we serve."

McCall-Rodriguez lends broad expertise in the area of bicultural-bilingual outreach through her extensive marketing, advertising and communications experience. Prior to joining Blue Cross, McCall-Rodriguez was president of Mira Promo, Inc., where she offered consulting for corporations seeking to expand business in Spanish and Hispanic markets. She is also the founder of the Latino Speakers Bureau, which promotes successful Latino role models. Her professional history includes vice president of TV Promo International Group, an international advertising and promotion corporation; general manager of Walker Advertising, a full service ad agency; and marketing manager for La Opinion, the largest Spanish daily in the United States.

McCall-Rodriguez has many certifications in her field and is an accomplished speaker, author and entrepreneur. She holds an MBA in Marketing Management from Universidad de Las Americas in Mexico City and a degree in Economics from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.

Blue Cross of California and its California affiliates, serving more than 7.5 million medical members, is an operating subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., the nation's second largest publicly traded health care company. WellPoint serves the health care needs of more than 15.3 million medical members and approximately 46 million specialty members nationally. WellPoint offers a broad spectrum of quality network-based health products including open access PPO, POS and hybrid products, HMO and specialty products. Specialty products include pharmacy benefit management, dental, utilization management, vision, mental health, life and disability insurance, long term care insurance, flexible spending accounts, COBRA administration, and Medicare supplements. Blue Cross of California can be found on the web at www.bluecrossca.com. Blue Cross of California is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Association.