Wellpoint Health Networks Inc

The chief financial officer of Blue Cross of California parent WellPoint Inc. was forced out after the company accused him of unspecified misconduct, the healthcare giant announced Thursday. The sudden departure of David C. Colby, 53, a highly regarded executive within the managed-care industry and a darling of Wall Street, shocked investors and led to a 3.5% decline in the company's stock.

The multibillion-dollar business of prescription allergy drugs took a sharp turn Friday as WellPoint Health Networks Inc. said it plans to steer allergy patients from prescription medications to over-the-counter versions of Claritin. The announcement came as Schering-Plough Corp. disclosed plans to market Claritin as a nonprescription drug when its patent expires in December.

State regulators, after a hearing Friday that was demanded by consumer advocates, said they hoped to rule in the next few weeks on the proposed sale of WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and its Blue Cross of California subsidiary. Officials at the Department of Managed Health Care said they would evaluate widespread complaints about the $17-billion deal before issuing a final decision on Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc.'s bid to buy the Thousand Oaks healthcare provider.

After nine months of negotiations and much squabbling, WellPoint Health Networks and Health Systems International have formally agreed on terms calling off their $1.6-billion merger, which would have created the nation's second-largest managed health-care company.

WellPoint Inc., the nation's largest health insurer that covers about 1 in 10 people in the U.S., fared the worst among its peers in a survey gauging how quickly HMOs process and pay claims to doctors. The analysis, released Thursday, examined 5 million line items in claims submitted by 7,000 doctors to health insurance companies using a computer-based payment system sold by Athenahealth Inc., which compiled the study. Indianapolis-based WellPoint, which covers 34 million patients in the U.S.

Health insurer WellPoint Inc. has been barred from adding customers to Medicare plans after it denied prescription drugs to the elderly, endangering their lives, the government said Monday. The sanctions, outlined in a letter to WellPoint from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, followed a "sharp" increase in consumer complaints, the agency said.

The people at WellPoint Health Networks Inc. profess to be mystified at why politicians and consumer advocates have suddenly piled on about certain costs of the healthcare company's proposed $16-billion acquisition by Indianapolis rival Anthem Inc.

With all the troubles besetting California's economy, where would you think to look for a bright spot? Moving services? Bankruptcy lawyers? How about Blue Cross of California? Seriously. In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in recent California history, the state's largest health insurer is back from the dead and doing so well that it has spun the bulk of its operations into a for-profit subsidiary. Next month the new unit, WellPoint Health Networks, will offer stock to the public.

The largest shareholder in WellPoint Health Networks Inc. is selling about 10% of the stock in the large managed health care concern. California HealthCare Foundation, based in Oakland, plans this month to sell 7 million shares of the common stock in WellPoint Health Networks. Given recent stock prices, the foundation could gross about $470 million on the stock sale. The foundation was set up when WellPoint's Blue Cross of California operation switched from a nonprofit to a for-profit concern.

Shares of WellPoint Inc. climbed after it became the latest insurer to report a steep profit drop but dumped no fresh bad news on investors wary of the sector. The nation's largest insurer by enrollment said it earned $331.4 million, or 65 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, down 61% from $859.1 million, or $1.51, a year earlier. Revenue fell 3% to $15.07 billion. The company, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, said its membership fell by 288,000 to 35 million in the fourth quarter compared to the third as employers cut jobs.