Sep. 23--WellPoint is mulling more job cuts, although the company isn't saying where the reductions would be made or how many positions could be trimmed.

The Indianapolis-based health insurance giant said Tuesday it was considering work-force reductions as it faces a still-sluggish economy and uncertainty from potential health-care reforms coming out of Washington.

"As the economic environment changes, WellPoint reviews the size and skills of our work force and makes adjustments as necessary," WellPoint spokeswoman Kristin Binns said in an e-mail.

Job reductions by businesses across the country during the downturn have caused shrinking membership in many of WellPoint's employer-sponsored health plans.

The company said it is looking for ways to operate more efficiently in 2010.

Early this year, WellPoint trimmed about 1,500 jobs in a move that included about 600 layoffs. About 4,500 of its 42,000 employees are in Indiana.

Its Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the state's largest commercial insurer.

The company is still profitable, but it has seen a drop-off in its performance. Profit in the recent second quarter was $693.5 million, a decrease of almost 8 percent from a year ago.

WellPoint expects its total membership, 35 million at the end of 2008, to fall to 33.6 million by the end of this year.

Call Star reporter Daniel Lee at (317) 444-6311.

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