Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 29, 1993                   TAG: 9305290038
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

VIRGINIA BLUES CONSIDER A NAME CHANGE

Company spokesman James Goss said Virginia Blues is "evaluating the possibility of a new name that's more representative of our company."

He said he could not discuss any specific names under consideration or a timetable for making a decision.

The possibility of a new name arose last year when the Virginia company was considering possible merger with a Blue Cross-Blue Shield company serving the Washington, D.C., area.

That deal fell through, but Goss said the study of a new name continued.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia restructured itself in 1991 from a prepaid insurance plan into a mutual insurance company. Goss said that represented "a dramatic change."

He said the company owns related subsidiaries that operate in 33 states, the District of Columbia and the United Kingdom. A new name, he said, would better represent those interests.