Blue Cross/St. Francis Negotiations Collapse; Contract Dispute Ends Relationship.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 12, 2003

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA) and its health plan, Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia (BCBSHP) today announced that St. Francis Hospital in Columbus has terminated its relationship

"It is disappointing for this longstanding relationship to end," said Vince Barksdale, BCBSGA vice president network management, "but St. Francis's demands left us little choice."

For several months, BCBSGA has been in discussions with St. Francis regarding renewal of its PPO and HMO/POS contracts. In recent years, St. Francis has received annual increases that have placed its current reimbursements above the market payment average for Columbus. Indeed, their present demands would place them significantly above the Columbus market and above the Atlanta market for similar services and procedures.

Effective January 1, 2004, the BCBSGA PPO hospital network includes the following providers:

Columbus Doctors Hospital - Columbus, Georgia

Georgia Baptist Meriwether Hospital - Warm Springs, Georgia

The Medical Center - Columbus, Georgia

Stewart Webster Hospital - Richland, Georgia

As of January 1, 2004, our BCBSHP HMO/POS hospital network includes:

Columbus Doctors Hospital - Columbus, Georgia

In the case of a medical emergency, affected members should not hesitate to go to the nearest hospital emergency room for proper care, regardless of whether or not the hospital is in the network.

"We believe our members and St. Francis patients are best served by a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship between us," Charlie Harman, vice president for public affairs, said. "We understand that operating a hospital in today's environment is challenging and that hospital spending accounted for over half of the overall increase in health costs."

Harman added, "We are very concerned about any member disruption the hospital's termination may cause. St. Francis only needs to call to restart the negotiations."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia serves more than 2.3 million medical members and is the oldest and largest health benefits company in Georgia. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia is an operating subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc., one of the nation's largest publicly traded health care companies serving the health care needs of more than 14 million medical members and more than 50 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 and Blue Shield of Georgia may be found on the web at www.bcbsga.com. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.