In June, Angela Braly became president and chief executive officer of WellPoint Inc., a health-benefits company based in Indianapolis with revenues last year of $57 billion. Braly (pronounced “BR AH-lee”), who is 45, earned her law degree at Southern Methodist University.

Through a series of mergers, WellPoint has become the nation’s biggest health insurer, with 34 million members. Subsidiaries operate under many different names: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in 14 states, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield in New York, and UniCare in all 50 states. WellPoint also runs the nation’s largest Medicaid managed-care plan and is the largest provider of Medicare contracting services.

THE AMERICAN: Angela, does the American healthcare system work well?

The healthcare system—not the financing system— has some real problems that are not going to fix themselves. We have information that can be useful to the physicians and to the hospitals about the quality of the healthcare that is being delivered in different parts of the country. This is information that can have an impact on the cost of healthcare. Examples of what can be done are profound.

We are looking at members who are living with diabetes or have children with asthma. Are they enrolled in our wellness and disease-management programs? And if they are enrolled, are they receiving what evidence-based medicine says a person with diabetes should receive? Are they getting their blood checked? If they had gotten their preventative visits, which our disease-management program is going to push them to have, we think they are not going to show up in the emergency room.

So every year, we are going to look at the member health index and see if we have improved it. We know if our members receive quality care, it is going to cost less over time.

But do you think that the current healthcare insurance system is tenable over the long run?

We do. It works because it is choice-based. It really supports innovation. We know that there are other government-run healthcare systems that produce higher costs, longer waits for care, and limited access to important treatments. Introducing such a system will immediately have a negative impact on investment in new technology. It would limit choice in terms of pharmaceuticals. We know that one size does not fit all, and Americans want choice.

The healthcare system—not the financing system— has some real problems that are not going to fix themselves.

An example is a product that we call Tonik, which, if you are hip and cool and young, is spelled with a “k.” We developed it after studying a group that often will go without insurance. Tonik is designed for that cohort—the young, invincible age range. We do not think a government solution can provide these choices. The private market can and does.

You bring up the issue of young people who are, in many cases, uninsured. What should America do, in general, about the millions who do not have health insurance?

Let’s say of the total pie of uninsured there are 20 percent to 25 percent who effectively can afford healthcare and are self-insured, meaning they do not carry health insurance. This quadrant, from our perspective, is a market opportunity. On the other end of the spectrum, 20 percent to 25 percent of the uninsured are currently eligible for Medicaid and are not enrolled.

We have committed over the next three years to spend $30 million on the issues related to the uninsured, including enrollment in Medicaid.

But the growth in uninsured, unfortunately, is in the middle: the working poor. There should be an innovative proposal that probably involves a public-private partnership. For example, a person working for a small employer may not be able to afford the employee contribution level for the policy, and the employer may have a hard time affording the coverage. For that part of the market, there should be something like a premium subsidy program that is means-tested.

Of the 50 largest companies in the United States, you are the only woman CEO. Why?

That’s a good question. I think there should be many other women CEO s. It feels natural to be a CEO of WellPoint, and part of the reason may be that women may be drawn to healthcare as a profession. Women make 70 percent of all healthcare decisions. Women are currently available—ready, willing, and able—to be CEO s of major Fortune 50 or 500 companies. And I expect them to emerge as such over the days, weeks, and months ahead.

Image credit: photo by Craig Guyon.