BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina

South Carolina BlueCross Ranked by InformationWeek as a Top Technology Company

September 13, 2006

Columbia, S.C. -- BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is ranked 172nd on the annual InformationWeek 500 list announced this week. The top 2006 InformationWeek 500 companies were revealed at a gala awards ceremony held during the InformationWeek 500 Conference in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

Unique among corporate rankings, the InformationWeek 500 spotlights the power of innovation in business technology, rather than simply identifying the biggest IT spenders. Candidates had to complete an application that examined key IT strategies. It included a quantitative analysis of tech initiatives and priorities and a qualitative assessment using essay responses. The responses to all parts of the survey were evaluated, weighted and combined into a total score, which is the basis for the ranking. The selection criteria are determined by the magazine's editors.

The 2006 list of 500 contains only 19 insurance companies.

"InformationWeek is particularly picky about applying the innovation moniker. As an insurance company with multiple lines of business, we’re proud of our ability to innovate using our systems and to make it on the InformationWeek 500 list," said BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina Chief Information Officer Stephen K. Wiggins.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina highlighted in its application its development of a combined healthcare and financial swipe card product used in doctor’s offices to check insurance eligibility, adjudicate claims, and process credit or debit card transactions over the Internet. The project resulted in a swipe card box product called Companion Direct Point of Care launched last year by Companion Technologies, a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.

"By imaginatively mixing and matching emerging and mainstream technologies, this year's InformationWeek 500 companies have a superior understanding of their operations and know how to connect with employees, suppliers, and customers …," wrote Eric Chabrow in the lead article titled "In Depth: How the InformationWeek 500 Cracks Businesses’ Toughest Problems" in this week’s InformationWeek.

Additional details on the InformationWeek 500 can be found at www.informationweek.com/newshome.

Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.

Companion Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary, also headquartered in Columbia, S.C., that develops medical practice management and electronic medical records software for physician organizations and revenue cycle management software and electronic data interchange services for hospitals.

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