WellPoint's National Government Services Subsidiary's Technology Director Named a Computerworld Premier 100 IT Leader

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gary Davis, technology director at WellPoint, Inc.'s National Government Services (NGS) subsidiary, has been named a 2010 Premier 100 IT Leader by Computerworld magazine. Established in 2000, the Premier 100 spotlights individuals for their exceptional leadership, innovative approach to business challenges, and effectively managed IT strategies.

Davis, based in Louisville, KY, manages a 40-person team that is responsible for the infrastructure, administration, and performance management of large IT systems for NGS and its primary customer, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). His team also plays a crucial role in executing a next generation desktop (NGD) contract with CMS. The core of CMS' virtual call center strategy, the NGD is designed to manage inquiries for 40 million Medicare beneficiaries.

The NGD is the only CMS system with a complete mirror, or backup, site that is kept current with all production data, system information, and configurations. "Gary's leadership, dedication, attention to detail, and unmatched drive was instrumental in improving the mirror site and making it fully functional," said NGS Chief Information Officer Tim Masheck.

"I'm quite humbled by the Computerworld award because I work alongside a very talented group of IT directors, any of whom are as deserving as I am," Davis said. "For NGS, the award means a great deal and says volumes about our culture and the capabilities of our IT organization as a whole."

"Gary is an outstanding example of the leadership and dedication displayed by NGS associates every day," said Sandy Miller, WellPoint senior vice president and president of Federal Government Solutions. "We are all very proud of Gary and the honor he and his team have brought to NGS."

The Premier 100 awards will be presented during Computerworld's annual Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference scheduled for March 7-9, 2010, in Phoenix, Arizona.

About WellPoint, Inc.

WellPoint works to simplify the connection between Health, Care and Value. We help to improve the health of our communities, deliver better care to members, and provide greater value to our customers and shareholders. WellPoint is the nation's largest health benefits company, with approximately 34 million members in its affiliated health plans. As an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, WellPoint serves 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 the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, WellPoint does business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield or Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (in the New York service areas). WellPoint also serves customers throughout the country as UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at www.wellpoint.com.

About National Government Services, Inc.

National Government Services, Inc. contracts with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to administer Medicare Part A (hospital insurance), home health and hospice, national FQHC and Part B (medical insurance) contracts and the Jurisdiction B durable medical equipment Medicare administrative contract, serving nearly 160,000 providers and suppliers, and over 22.7 million people with Medicare in 20 states and five U.S. Territories. National Government Services is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. and has served as a Medicare contractor since 1966.

About the Premier 100:

The Premier 100 was first created in 2000 to spotlight individuals who have had a positive impact on their organization through technology. These are individuals who manage internal IT organizations, mentor and motivate their IT teams and business colleagues, create a positive work environment, envision innovative solutions to business challenges and effectively manage and execute IT strategies. Each year nominees are invited to complete a survey that addresses a number of topics, including their background and experience and their attitude toward risk and innovation. Using Computerworld's IT Leader Index and using the data from the index, which is a measurement of how closely an individual matches our definition of the IT Leader, we analyze the data. Each year, 100 honorees are selected to receive this lifetime recognition award. Information on previous honorees can be viewed at: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9065479/Premier_100_IT_Leaders.

About Computerworld

Computerworld is the leading source of technology news and information for IT influencers worldwide.  Computerworld's award-winning Web site (http://www.computerworld.com), bi-weekly publication, focused conference series and custom research forms the hub of the world's largest (40+ edition) global IT media network. In the past five years alone, Computerworld has won more than 100 awards, including Folio Magazine's 2006 Gold EDDIE Award for the best technology/computing magazine, the 2004 and 2006 Magazine of the Year Award, and 2006 Best Overall Web Publication from the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE). Computerworld leads the industry with an online audience of over 2 million unique, monthly visitors and a print audience of 1,059,000 readers each issue (IntelliQuest CIMS Spring 2009). Computerworld is published by International Data Group (IDG), the world's leading technology media, research and event company. Company information is available at http://www.idg.com.

SOURCE WellPoint, Inc.