Cath Lab Digest

Angela Braly, president and chief executive officer at WellPoint, Inc, resigned on Tuesday night following investor complaints about the company's recent financial performance and outlook. Ms. Braly had been in those roles since 2007.

The nation's second largest health insurer named executive vice president and general counsel John Cannon as interim CEO. Mr. Cannon does not want to be considered for the permanent CEO position, according to the company.

The Wall Street Journal reported that investors such as Omega Advisors and T. Rowe Price Group, Inc sent a letter to WellPoint's board of directors after the company reported poor second quarter results in late July. At the time, Ms. Braly announced WellPoint would lower its guidance for 2012 because of lower enrollment and higher cost trends.

Possible candidates to replace Ms. Braly, according to Bloomberg, include Amerigroup, Inc CEO James Carlson, former Medco Health Solutions, Inc CEO David Snow Jr., and Gail Boudreaux, the head of the health plan division at UnitedHealth. Internal candidates may include chief financial officer Wayne Deveydt and executive vice president Kenneth Goulet, Bloomberg reported.

Like its competitors, WellPoint has recently diversified its offerings to deal with upcoming industry changes brought upon by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It acquired 1-800-Contacts, Inc and Amerigroup Corp, which insures Medicaid beneficiaries. By 2014, an estimated additional 16 million people will have Medicaid, and many states are shifting their Medicaid programs to private insurers. WellPoint also hopes to insure people who have both Medicaid and Medicare, known as "dual eligibles."

Read WellPoint's news release at http://ir.wellpoint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=130104&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1729474&highlight=

Read the Wall Street Journal article at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444327204577617943525945430.html

Read the Bloomberg article at http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-29/wellpoint-s-ceo-braly-resigns-amid-shareholder-criticism

-Tim Casey