Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City designated One of the "Best Companies to Work For"

Kansas City, MO May 22, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information contact:
Rachel Spear
Morningstar Communications
Phone: 913-660-9626
rspear@morningstarcomm.com

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City designated One of the "Best Companies to Work For"

Kansas City, MO--May 22, 2012 – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) was named one of the "Best Companies to Work For" in the large company category by Ingram's Magazine. The annual award recognizes companies in Kansas City for providing an all-around excellent workplace experience.

"Our people are our greatest asset," said David Gentile, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue KC. "We believe it is important to cultivate a collaborative and engaging environment so employees enjoy coming into the office each day, and in turn, produce great work to make a difference for our members and our community."

Blue KC employees gain from a variety of features in the company's benefits package, including the recent addition of a health and wellness incentive program, one of the key reasons Blue KC was chosen as a "Best Company to Work For." The wellness program highlights include a 24/7 fitness center, lifestyle coaching, bi-monthly lunch and learns, free cooking classes and online wellness webinars, all of which are located onsite.

In addition to health and wellness programming, Blue KC is noted as a strong organization for developing leadership qualities at all levels and promoting community involvement. Employees support multiple nonprofit organizations throughout the year with annual campaigns. To double their impact on the local community and to support a healthy lifestyle, Blue KC matches the funds raised by employees for walks and runs.

"Receiving recognition for the internal programs we create for Blue KC employees makes our goal of promoting a healthy and prosperous Kansas City that much more special," Gentile said.

This year marks the second time Blue KC has received the award, after winning for the first time in 2009. Companies are required to sit out the process for three years after receiving the award making 2012 the first year Blue KC was eligible to participate again.

Ingram's Magazine uses independent judges and specific scoring criteria when evaluating companies for this award.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. *Ranked by J.D. Power and Associates in 2012 as "Highest Member Satisfaction among Commercial Health Plans in the Heartland Region," Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to use our role as the area's leading health insurer to provide affordable access to health care and to improve the health and wellness of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.

* Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City received the highest numerical score among commercial health plans in the Heartland region (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska) in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2012 U.S. Member Health Plan Study^SM. Study based on 32,868 total member responses, measuring nine plans in the Heartland Region (excludes Medicare and Medicaid). Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of members surveyed December 2011-January 2012. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com.

• Back to News Archives