Organization	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Organization [Abstract]
Organization	1. Organization References to the terms “we”, “our”, “us”, “WellPoint” or the “Company” used throughout these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements refer to WellPoint, Inc., an Indiana corporation, and unless the context otherwise requires, its direct and indirect subsidiaries. We are one of the largest health benefits companies in the United States, serving 33.5 medical members through our affiliated health plans and more than 63.7 individuals through all subsidiaries as of September 30, 2012. We offer a broad spectrum of network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and senior markets. Our managed care plans include: preferred provider organizations, or PPOs; health maintenance organizations, or HMOs; point-of-service, or POS, plans; traditional indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans, or CDHPs; and hospital only and limited benefit products. In addition, we provide a broad array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. We provide an array of specialty and other insurance products and services such as behavioral health benefit services, dental, vision, life and disability insurance benefits, radiology benefit management, analytics-driven personal health care guidance and long-term care insurance. We also provide services to the Federal Government in connection with the Federal Employee Program, or FEP, and various Medicare programs. Finally, we sell contact lenses, eyeglasses and other ocular products through our recently acquired 1-800 CONTACTS, Inc., or 1-800 CONTACTS, subsidiary. We are an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, or BCBSA, an association of independent health benefit plans. We serve our members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield, or BCBS, licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the BCBS licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or BCBS 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 we do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in our New York service areas). We also serve customers throughout the country as UniCare, and in certain California, Arizona and Nevada markets through our CareMore Health Group, Inc., or CareMore, subsidiary. We are licensed to conduct insurance operations in all 50 states through our subsidiaries.

Organization

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

1. Organization

References to the terms “we”, “our”, “us”, “WellPoint” or the “Company” used throughout these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements refer to WellPoint, Inc., an Indiana corporation, and unless the context otherwise requires, its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

We are one of the largest health benefits companies in the United States, serving 33.5 medical members through our affiliated health plans and more than 63.7 individuals through all subsidiaries as of September 30, 2012. We offer a broad spectrum of network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and senior markets. Our managed care plans include: preferred provider organizations, or PPOs; health maintenance organizations, or HMOs; point-of-service, or POS, plans; traditional indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans, or CDHPs; and hospital only and limited benefit products. In addition, we provide a broad array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. We provide an array of specialty and other insurance products and services such as behavioral health benefit services, dental, vision, life and disability insurance benefits, radiology benefit management, analytics-driven personal health care guidance and long-term care insurance. We also provide services to the Federal Government in connection with the Federal Employee Program, or FEP, and various Medicare programs. Finally, we sell contact lenses, eyeglasses and other ocular products through our recently acquired 1-800 CONTACTS, Inc., or 1-800 CONTACTS, subsidiary.

We are an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, or BCBSA, an association of independent health benefit plans. We serve our members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield, or BCBS, licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as the BCBS licensee in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties and as the Blue Cross or BCBS 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 we do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, or Empire Blue Cross (in our New York service areas). We also serve customers throughout the country as UniCare, and in certain California, Arizona and Nevada markets through our CareMore Health Group, Inc., or CareMore, subsidiary. We are licensed to conduct insurance operations in all 50 states through our subsidiaries.