3 WellPoint board members resigning [The Indianapolis Star]

May 14--Three longtime members of health insurance giant WellPoint's board of directors are resigning, the Indianapolis-based company announced Monday.

Sheila Burke, Susan Bayh and Dr. Lenox Baker Jr. are leaving the 11-member board for personal reasons, according to company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision.

"Health care is transforming, and that transformation is accelerating rapidly," said WellPoint spokeswoman Kristin Binns. "It is incumbent on the board to bring in new perspectives to help navigate these changes."

Burke is a former executive dean of Harvard'sJohn F. Kennedy School of Government and was chief of staff to former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. Bayh is an attorney and the wife of Evan Bayh, a former governor and U.S. senator. Baker is a surgeon who publicly backed then-CEO Angela Braly when she came under fire from investors who were unhappy with the company's performance. She resigned in August.

The resignations come two months after WellPoint's new chief executive, Joseph Swedish, took the helm in March.

Binns said the board "constantly evaluates qualified individuals who could bring a valuable and unique perspective to WellPoint," but she had no information about potential replacements.

The company also reaffirmed its full year outlook for adjusted earnings per share of <money>$7.80.

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