Management Fundamentals 5th Edition by Robert Lussier

Exercise 15

WellPoint, Inc. (formerly Anthem, Inc.) was formed when WellPoint Health Networks, Inc. and Anthem, Inc. merged in 2004 to become the nation's leading health benefits company. It is the largest health benefits company in terms of commercial membership in the United States, serving over 33 million medical members. Through its nationwide networks, the company delivers a number of leading health benefit solutions through a broad portfolio of integrated health care plans and related services, along with a wide range of specialty products. Angela Braly has been president and chief executive officer for WellPoint, Inc. since 2007. Since that time, she has experienced great success and received numerous accolades, including being named by both Forbes and Fortune magazines as one of the most powerful women in business each year from 2007 to 2010. However, Braly's success didn't come overnight. Braly started her career as a partner in a St. Louis law firm. In January 1999, Braly became general counsel for RightCHOICE Managed Care Inc., which was the parent company of Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri. From there, Braly would go on to serve as president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri until 2005, when she became executive vice president, general counsel, and chief public affairs officer for WellPoint. In that role, she was responsible for public policy development, government relations, legal affairs, corporate communications, marketing, and social responsibility initiatives. She also had operational responsibility for the nation's largest Medicare claims processing business and the federal employee health benefits business. Braly was also a key strategist during WellPoint's acquisition of New York-based WellChoice in 2005.
In February 2007, 45-year-old Braly was selected to be promoted to president and take over the CEO role. This came as a surprise, as Braly beat out several executives with more experience, including the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), David Colby, who was expected to get the job. WellPoint's board of directors stated that it selected Braly based on her experience as a lawyer and dealing with the government-the nation's largest insurance payer. As the debate rages in Congress and the states over the government's role in financing and regulating health care, Well- Point knew Braly's public-policy expertise would be very advantageous down the road. Colby was named vice chairman and was granted a one-time award of 20,000 shares of restricted stock, worth about $1.62 million, according to a regulatory filing, and 40,000 stock options.
However, just two days before taking over her new role as CEO, Braly and departing CEO Larry Glasscock asked Colby to resign, citing an undisclosed violation of the company's code of conduct. WellPoint's 25-page code of conduct covers policies ranging from sexual harassment to alcohol and drug use to writing comments on Internet blogs and chat rooms. Colby's resignation was seen as all the more puzzling because the company had worked hard in recent months to assure investors that Colby would stay on as part of the management team, despite being passed over for CEO. Braly wouldn't specify what policy Colby had violated, only that it didn't involve illegal conduct, was "in no way related to the business of WellPoint," and that it was "absolutely the right thing to do based on where the facts led us."
______ Keeping medical records of over 33 million members nationwide requires a
A) transaction processing system (TPS)
B) management information system (MIS)
C) decision support system (DSS)