Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas Announces Executive Changes

Richardson, Texas – Dec. 14, 2005 – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) today announced that Martin G. Foster, senior vice president, Marketing and Sales, will become president of BCBSTX effective Jan. 1, 2006. Foster will succeed Patricia Hemingway Hall, who has been promoted to executive vice president, Internal Operations, for Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the parent organization for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

As president of BCBSTX, Foster will oversee all Texas operations, including marketing and sales, health care management and medical policy. Prior to joining BCBSTX in 2003, Foster held leadership positions for more than 20 years with United Healthcare and Metropolitan Life. During that time, he was responsible for developing and implementing sales strategy and organizational structure in Texas and throughout the Southwest.

Hemingway Hall will direct HCSC's Finance, Subscriber Services, Enterprise Process Management, Information Technology, Actuarial and Treasury divisions. She joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas in 1993 before its 1998 merger with HCSC. She has more than 30 years of health care experience at companies such as Voluntary Hospitals of America, Aetna/Partners Health Plans and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida. During her five years as president of HCSC's Texas Division, Hemingway Hall led a financial turnaround and set new membership records.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is the only statewide, non-investor owned health coverage provider in Texas, serving more than 4 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.