These days, WellPoint seems to be looking to grow by nibbling away at the market, rather than by the multibillion-dollar bites it has used to become the nation's largest health benefits company.

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In reporting second-quarter earnings Wednesday, the Indianapolis insurer highlighted growth from smaller initiatives aimed at increasing enrollment and profits.

"I would say we had an outstanding first half of 2006," WellPoint Chairman, President and Chief Executive Larry Glasscock said in a conference call with analysts. "We continue to expect the full year of 2006 to be another excellent year."

WellPoint ended the quarter with 34.2 million enrollees, an increase of 5.3 million from a year ago that included an addition of 4.8 million members from WellChoice.

WellPoint has done well in integrating its large mergers but can't depend on such big deals for future growth, said Beth Senko, an analyst with Williams Capital Group in New York.

"WellPoint is making good headway there," Senko said. "It's going to have to be organic. It's going to have to be small mergers, because there's just not much out there."
The company said one of its growth strategies is to add people who were previously uninsured. Glasscock said those gains come from programs such as Tonik , an individual policy designed for young adults, and lower-cost plans tailored for small employers that have not previously offered health benefits to workers.

"We view this uninsured population as a market opportunity," said Glasscock, adding that 46 million Americans go without insurance at some point during the year.
In the first half of the year, WellPoint sold 195,000 policies to people who were previously uninsured.

Source: Indy Star