Wellpoint.com has withdrawn its application for the new gTLD, .Caremore becoming the 8th new gTLD application to be withdrawn.

According to its application, “WellPoint is one of America’s leading health plan providers, the largest within the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, serving members across 14 states and with more commercial membership than any other US health benefits company. It has more than 33 million members in its affiliated health plans, and a total of more than 69 million individuals are served through its subsidiaries.”

“WellPoint was formed in 2004 by the merger of WellPoint Health Networks Inc, and Anthem Inc.”

“In August 2011, WellPoint acquired CareMore Health Group, whose headquarters are in Cerritos, California. It is a wholly owned operating division of WellPoint.”

“CareMore offers Medicare Advantage plans and Special Needs Plans designed for the chronically ill in select California, Nevada and Arizona markets. CareMore is distinguished by its unique service delivery model and Neighborhood Care Centres.”

“The .CareMore registry will be a standard, not a community-based, registry. Its purpose will be to:

• Protect WellPoint’s intellectual property and ensure that the integrity of the CareMore brand is enhanced at the highest possible level in the domain name system. We have a portfolio of registered intellectual property rights around the world and securing the term, .CareMore, will enable us to harmonise our current brand protection policies
• Provide a platform for WellPoint to prosper in the post-PPACA healthcare market through the delivery of secure, consolidated digital material for industry professionals and consumers alike
• Ensure WellPoint remains at the forefront of innovation by keeping pace with internet technology developments

The success of the .CareMore registry will be determined by the enhancement in the equity of the CareMore brand and in terms of the security and stability it brings to our communications.

WellPoint believes this application for a new gTLD for the character string CareMore is in the public interest because it will assist all those who wish to connect with us in search of authentic information they can trust to avoid being diverted by 3rd parties who misrepresent us under .com or other TLDs.

How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, internet users and others?

The registry will also benefit the following stakeholders:

Our customers: whether they are industry professionals or consumers, a new .CareMore registry will benefit them by becoming a clear signpost to authentic, accessible online information about the CareMore brand, products and services.

Our employees: a new gTLD will reinforce our brand and provide a more secure communication channel.

Other constituents such as industry professionals or healthcare providers.

At WellPoint, we pride ourselves on the integrity and high quality of our services. This will be reflected in the treatment of the .CareMore gTLD.

Our goal is in part to position ourselves to exploit this latest internet development in order to further enhance the CareMore brand and its reputation. We hope that this registry will be regarded by our customers as the authentic location for accurate information on CareMore’s services.

What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation or innovation?

We are eager to operate a registry with shorter domain names that are universally applicable. We feel it offers clarity, simplicity and will enable our customers and shareholders to place their trust in our registry while also providing potential for enhanced communication with them and with staff. We look forward to utilizing the new registry in conjunction with our current domains and anticipate marketing under the term .CareMore in future if the new gTLD process is a success.

What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?

We hope that .CareMore domains will come to be indelibly linked to our CareMore brand and instantly recognizable as such.

In any event the application has been pulled and you won’t see a .Carepoint anytime soon if ever.

Here are the 7th previously withdrawn applications:

.AND

.ARE

.CHATR

.CIALIS

.EST

.Glean

.KSB