New Online Tool Makes Enrollment in Blue Cross of California Easier

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The small business sector is one of the fastest growing segments of California's economy, however, many small business owners believe they cannot afford to provide their employees with health insurance. Blue Cross of California has just made it easier for small business owners to navigate the health care arena and find the most affordable products for their employees with the launch of a new online tool called Click4Biz.

In an effort to make the enrollment process easier for small business owners, Blue Cross has created a new website, http://www.bluecrossca.com/click4biz, that provides instant online quotes for small business owners, as well as offer them the chance to enroll their employees right away.

"We know small business owners want to provide their employees with health insurance but find the current industry processes cumbersome," said Mary Floyd, vice president of agency sales for Blue Cross. "Blue Cross is responding to this need by making health care coverage easier to understand and afford through Click4Biz, which features a faster quoting mechanism and a more convenient enrollment process."

Click4Biz was designed to facilitate enrollment by making comparison-shopping convenient. Small businesses provide basic information about the size of their businesses and their insurance needs on-line. The system navigates through Blue Cross' catalog of product lines to compare cost effective options and appropriate coverage for employees of that business and then provides it back to the business owner's computer. Click4Biz then provides small business employees with access to the website for the purposes of inputting their own individualized enrollment information.

The new online tool at http://www.bluecrossca.com/click4biz provides small businesses with a choice between a variety of PPO and HMO options with guaranteed fixed rates through their EmployeeElect, EmployeeChoice, and BeneFits portfolios. Coverage is customized to include dental, vision, and life insurance at a cost that helps enable small businesses to provide their employees with peace of mind when it comes to all their health care needs.

About Blue Cross of California:

Blue Cross of California is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. . WellPoint, Inc. is the nation's largest Medicaid managed care organization and the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States. WellPoint, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through HealthLink and UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/.