A $5,000 Healthy Habits grant

For immediate release

October 7, 2011

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation announces new grants to expand record-setting Triple Play Program

St. Louis -- The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation announced new grants to expand Triple Play programming at Boys & Girls Clubs in Missouri.

A $5,000 Healthy Habits grant will allow Boys & Girls Club of Poplar Bluff to provide programming focused on teaching the importance of healthy eating and being physically active.

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports childhood obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1980," said Steve Martenet, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri. "This means that our kids are less healthy than their parents were at the same age, and they will face an increased risk of lifelong health challenges such as heart disease and diabetes unless we do something to help them learn healthy habits."

A recent study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 who attend Boys & Girls Clubs showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent.

"Triple Play has rapidly become one of the most popular programs offered at Boys & Girls Clubs across the country," said Wayne Moss, BGCA's senior director of Sports, Fitness and Recreation. "We're thrilled to have the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation as a co-sponsor of the program and thank them for the work they are doing to make sure that we are able to bring Triple Play to additional youth. These grants will make an immediate, positive difference in the lives and the futures of our Club members."

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is working to address health disparities and improving public health throughout Missouri. Through its State Health Index -- a compilation of public health measures -- the health plan continually works to identify the issues most in need of attention and directs its charitable support and volunteer efforts toward improving health in those areas. The $15,000 in start-up and supplementary grants announced today are part of a three-year, $5 million commitment from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield's parent company foundation to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to promote youth health.

"Both of these efforts truly represent an ongoing partnership in health," said Martenet. "We strongly feel that by encouraging active lifestyles at a young age, we are helping support a healthier future for our children."

About Triple Play

Triple Play: A Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul was launched in 2005 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services with support from The Coca-Cola Company to encourage kids to eat healthier, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships. A two-year study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. The study found that Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent. To date, Triple Play has helped more than one million kids learn the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition. In 2011, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation joined BGCA and Coca-Cola as a Triple Play sponsor. Learn more about the program at www.bgca.org/tripleplay.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (www.bgca.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, nearly 4,000 Boys & Girls Clubs serve some 4 million children and teens through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native American lands throughout the country and on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Priority programs emphasize academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

Through charitable grant making, the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation LLC, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, promotes Anthem's inherent commitment to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield serves. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and its parent foundation provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri

In Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area) Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name for RightCHOICE® Managed Care, Inc. (RIT), Healthy Alliance® Life Insurance Company (HALIC), and HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates administer non-HMO benefits underwritten by HALIC and HMO benefits underwritten by HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates only provide administrative services for self-funded plans and do not underwrite benefits. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri is available at www.anthem.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/healthjoinin, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HealthJoinIn, or visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/healthjoinin.