WellPoint spotted a major growth opportunity in those historic changes. So
in 2012, the Indianapolis, Indiana, USA-based organization acquired Amerigroup, which specialized in managing care for Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries. As part of the US$4.9 billion deal, the company gained the engine that
had helped power Amerigroup’s unprecedented growth since 2010: its project
management office (PMO).
Impressed with the PMO’s results, WellPoint executives charged it with
implementing strategy through the organization’s newly created government
business division (GBD). Just two years later, the division manages healthcare
for 7. 4 million Medicaid and Medicare members spread across 26 states, and
it accounts for 45 percent of WellPoint’s overall annual revenue. Tasked with
delivering 40 percent annual revenue growth in 2012 and 2013, the PMO delivered—cementing its standing at the company.
“The PMO has garnered a strong reputation for success, and it’s come
one project at a time,” Ms. Arcari says. “It took a while for folks
to warm up to the idea of having a centralized project
management team. But today, we don’t have
to convince people to call us—the
phones ring on their own.”
A PMO’S EVOLUTION
2008
The PMO
has no
formal
processes
or tools in
place.
2009 2010
The PMO’s approach is
overhauled to bring a
repeatable process to all
projects. New job descriptions requiring PMI credentials are established.
After the acquisition
of competitor Health
Plus is announced,
a 500-person team
begins a rapid—and
ultimately successful—
integration project.
After beginning the
integration of WellPoint
and Amerigroup government business systems,
the PMO’s portfolio
doubles in size.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
“We tried to
not get so stuck
on process,
methodology
and forms, to
avoid being
considered rigid
and to ensure
people would
want to work
with us.”
—Joe Hashemi, PMP, WellPoint,
Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA
11 17
23 27
45
58
71
5
projects in
portfolio
6
projects
9
projects
7
15
projects,
US$1.9
billion
value
19
projects,
US$3
billion
value
30
projects,
US$4
billion
value
28
projects
expected,
with US$5
billion
value
38
projects,
more than
US$4
billion
value
expected
Staff
members