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Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Committed Nearly $1.5 million to Improving Health and Strengthening Ohio Communities in 2011

"Having strong ties to the communities where we live and work is one of many strengths of our company," said Erin Hoeflinger, president, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio. "We want to be recognized as a dedicated community health partner that advocates the importance of healthy living, and I believe we 'walk the walk.'"

Through its State Health Index - a compilation of public health measures - and Healthy Generations program, Anthem and its foundation work to identify the health issues most in need of attention and then direct charitable support and volunteer efforts toward improving those areas. Major areas of focus for Anthem in 2011 were promoting youth health, preventing unnecessary preterm births, and decreasing the prevalence of diabetes and cardiac disease.

Projects and organizations receiving support from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation this year included:

• Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Triple Play program - $119,402 to support and expand the wellness program in Ohio.
• The Children's Hunger Alliance - $50,000 for Healthy Kids Healthy Communities after-school program.
• March of Dimes Centering Pregnancy Program - $100,000 to support a group-based prenatal care program that works to reduce preterm births and improve birth outcomes.
• The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) - $60,000 to help implement the 5-2-1-0 Healthy Kids Countdown, a childhood obesity prevention program that emphasizes healthy nutritional choices and behaviors.

In addition to grants, Anthem contributed more than $350,000 to local events, community organizations and nonprofits to enrich the quality of life throughout the state, including:

• American Heart Association
• American Lung Association
• CancerFree Kids
• Central Ohio Diabetes Association
• Dayton Junior League's POWER Program
• Greater Cincinnati Center for Closing the Health Gap
• Leukemia Lymphoma Society
• LifeCenter Organ Donor Network

Anthem associates also contributed personally and financially to improving their communities in 2011. Including a 50 percent match from its corporate foundation, the men and women of Anthem in Ohio pledged more than $630,000 to the campaign's six public health charity beneficiaries: American Cancer Society, American Red Cross, Community Health Charities, Feeding America, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and United Way.

More than 350 Anthem associates and their families volunteered at community organizations throughout Ohio during the company's Community Service Day on April 30, 2011. The annual effort benefitted nonprofits dedicated to improving the quality of life in local communities, including Joy Outdoor Education Center (Clarksville), Keep Columbus Beautiful, Boys and Girls Clubs, FreeStore Food Bank (Cincinnati), Mid Ohio Food Bank (Columbus) and Second Harvest Food Bank of the Mahoning Valley (Youngstown).

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Community Insurance Company, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio is available at www.anthem.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/healthjoinin, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HealthJoinIn, or visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/healthjoinin.

About the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and its parent foundation provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio
Media Contact:
Kim Ashley, (513) 445-0191