# Elevance Health

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Published: 2026-10-30T00:51:23.685Z

Updated: 2026-10-30T00:51:23.685Z

Elevance Health, Inc. is an American health insurance company. Prior to June 2022, Elevance Health was named Anthem, Inc. The company is the world's seventh largest healthcare company based on revenue. Its services include medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans through affiliated companies such as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Anthem

## Key facts

## Overview

Elevance Health, Inc. is an American health insurance company. Prior to June 2022, Elevance Health was named Anthem, Inc. The company is the world's seventh largest healthcare company based on revenue. Its services include medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans through affiliated companies such as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Anthem Blue Cross in California, Wellpoint, and Carelon. It is the largest for-profit managed health care company in the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. As of 2022, the company had 46.8 million members within its affiliated companies' health plans. Based on its 2021 revenues, the company ranked 20th on the 2022 Fortune 500. In 2023, the company's seat in Forbes Global 2000 rankings was 78. Carelon Global Solutions, Elevance Health's Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)/Shared Services subsidiary, serves the group's offshore and customer service management. It operates sites in India, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and the United States.

## Anthem

In 1946, Anthem began in Indianapolis, Indiana, as Mutual Hospital Insurance Inc. and Mutual Medical Insurance Inc. The companies grew significantly, controlling 80% of the medical insurance market in Indiana by the 1970s. In 1972, the two firms, then known as Blue Cross of Indiana and Blue Shield of Indiana, entered into a joint operating agreement. In 1985, the two companies merged into Associated Insurance Companies, Inc,, later called, The Associated Group, a holding company, but usage of the name "Anthem" persisted. In 1989, the company purchased American General Insurance Co. for $150 million and in 1991, it acquired The Shelby Insurance Co., based in Shelby, Ohio, for $125 million. In 1989, The Associated Group founded Acordia, a brokerage that sold and serviced insurance and employee benefit programs. In 1993, Acordia acquired American Business Insurance for $130 million and the Federal Kemper Insurance Company for $100 million. The Associated Group merged with Southeastern Mutual Insurance Company, the operator of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kentucky. In 1994, it sold Raffensperger, Hughes & Co., Inc., Indiana's largest investment bank, to National City Corp. In 1995, The Associated Group acquired Community Mutual Insurance, a provider of Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance plans in Ohio with over 1.9 million policy holders), then set up Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. In 1996, The Associated Group changed its name to Anthem Insurance Company. In August 1997, Anthem acquired Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut. It also sold Acordia to management. In 1999, Anthem acquired Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Colorado and Nevada, using debt financing. The acquisitions made since 1996 added 850,000 policy holders. Among its customer base were 2.4 million PPO and 964,000 HMO enrollees. In 2000, Anthem acquired Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 made it possible for Anthem to undergo demutualization and become a public company via an initial public offering, which made it the fourth largest public managed health care company in the United States. In 2002, Anthem acquired Trigon Healthcare of Virginia, a Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan, the largest insurer in Virginia, for $4.04 billion. Anthem Insurance Company reached 11.9 million members.

## Blue Cross of California

Blue Cross of California was the predecessor of WellPoint Health Network Inc. In 1982, Blue Cross of California was founded with the consolidation of Blue Cross of Northern California (established in 1936) and Blue Cross of Southern California (established in 1937). In 1992, WellPoint was formed to operate Blue Cross of California's managed care business. In January 1993, Blue Cross of California spun off its managed care business into a publicly traded entity, WellPoint Health Networks Inc. Blue Cross of California retained an 80% interest and voting control. In 1996, Blue Cross of California restructured to a for-profit corporation, designating WellPoint Health Networks Inc. as the parent organization. In April 1996, WellPoint completed its acquisition of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's group life and health insurance subsidiaries for approximately $380 million, making it the second-largest publicly held managed health company in the U.S. with 4 million policyholders. In March 1997, WellPoint acquired the group health and life businesses of John Hancock Financial for $86.7 million. With this acquisition, WellPoint expanded its presence into Michigan, Texas, and the mid-Atlantic, and gained a unit that concentrated on serving the needs of large employers. In 2000, WellPoint acquired PrecisionRx, a mail service pharmacy fulfillment center in Texas. In March 2000, WellPoint acquired Rush Prudential Health Plans, a Chicago provider, for $204 million. In March 2001, WellPoint acquired Cerulean Companies, the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia. In 2001, WellPoint offered to acquire CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for $1.37 billion, including $119 million in bonuses to Carefirst executives. In 2003, the offer was rejected by the Maryland insurance commissioner. In 2002, WellPoint acquired RightChoice Managed Care, a Missouri-based company that ran Blue Cross and Blue Shield for part of the state, for $1.5 billion. RightChoice also owned provider network company HealthLink. WellPoint also acquired MethodistCare of Houston, Texas and HealthLink. In 2003, WellPoint acquired Golden West Dental and Vision of Camarillo, California, and Cobalt, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield United of Wisconsin. In November 2004, Wellpoint, Inc. was formed by the merger of Anthem Insurance Company and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. The merger was structured as Anthem acquiring WellPoint Health Networks and renaming itself WellPoint, Inc. WellPoint continued to use 'Anthem' as the brand name under which it operated. It sold its Blue Cross and Blue Shield products in 11 states. In 2005, WellPoint acquired Alexandria, Virginia–based Lumenos, a provider of consumer-driven health care, for $185 million. Lumenos was the pioneer and market leader in consumer-driven health plans. In December, WellPoint acquired WellChoice, a New York City-based Blue Cross Blue Shield provider, for approximately $6.5 billion, making New York the 14th state in which WellPoint is a Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee. In 2007, WellPoint acquired Chicago-based American Imaging Management, a radiology benefit management company that creates software to help physicians choose cost-effective locations for their patients to receive medical imaging tests. WellPoint also acquired Chicago-based American Imaging Management (AIM), the leading radiology benefit management company. In January 2008, Leslie Margolin became the president of California operations. She resigned in July 2010. In 2008, WellPoint acquired Resolution Health, a firm that analyzes patient history for potential medical problems such as adverse drug interactions. In 2009, WellPoint acquired DeCare Dental, a dental insurance firm. In 2011, WellPoint acquired CareMore, a Cerritos, California-based provider of insurance and care centers for elderly patients. In 2012, WellPoint acquired Amerigroup for $4.9 billion, anticipating significant growth due to Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In August 2012, CEO Angela Braly resigned due to pressure from investors. On August 13, 2014, WellPoint announced it intended to change its name to Anthem, Inc., effective in December.

## Anthem, Inc.

In February 2015, the company acquired Simply Healthcare Holdings, a Medicaid and Medicare managed care company based in Florida. In June 2015, Anthem made an offer to acquire Cigna for more than $54 billion in cash and stock. In February 2017, United States district court Judge Amy Berman Jackson blocked the Cigna merger on grounds of anti-competitive practices. On February 14, Cigna called off its merger agreement with Anthem. In October 2017, Anthem announced that it would not renew its pharmacy benefit management (PBM) relationship with Express Scripts saying it had been overcharged $3 billion and that instead, Anthem would eventually handle the PBM process itself through its new IngenioRx unit. Anthem announced that it would enter a 5-year contract with CVS Health. Cigna then announced plans in March 2018 to acquire Express Scripts for $58 billion. On November 6, 2017, Gail Koziara Boudreaux was named CEO. In 2018, the company announced a $20 million expansion of its headquarters and the signing of a lease in Atlanta for its technology center. In March 2020, Anthem announced the acquisition of Beacon Health Options, and independently held behavioral health organization. On February 2, 2021, Anthem announced the acquisition of InnovaCare Health's Puerto Rico subsidiaries including MMM Holdings, LLC ("MMM") and its Medicare Advantage (MA) plan MMM Healthcare, LLC as well as affiliated companies and Medicaid plan. In November 2021, Anthem announced the acquisition of Integra Managed Care in New York. The acquisition of the New York-based international health insurance company was completed on May 5, 2022. On June 28, 2022, Anthem announced a change of its corporate name to Elevance Health, Inc. and also changed its stock ticker symbol from "ANTM" to "ELV".

## Elevance Health

On January 23, 2023, Elevance announced that it entered a definitive agreement to acquire Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, increasing Elevance's footprint to 15 states and adding 1.9 million new members. In 2023, Elevance announced that it would rebrand its Amerigroup business as Wellpoint starting in 2024. As of 2025, Elevance subsidiaries Carelon Behavioral Health and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield are the subject of three lawsuits in New York and Connecticut alleging that they operate ghost networks.

## Subsidiaries

Elevance Health includes the following subsidiaries:

Amerigroup District of Columbia (Medicaid) Georgia (Medicaid) New Mexico (Medicare Advantage) Anthem Blue Cross California Blue Cross of California Partnership Plan (Medicaid) New York (upstate) Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Colorado Connecticut Georgia Indiana (includes Medicaid) Kentucky Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicaid Maine Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area) Nevada Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Healthcare Solutions (Medicaid) New Hampshire New York (downstate) HealthPlus (Medicaid) Ohio Virginia (excluding Alexandria City, Arlington County, Falls Church City, and parts of Fairfax County) HealthKeepers (Medicaid) Wisconsin Carelon Behavioral Health Carelon Behavioral Health of California Carelon Behavioral Health of Kansas Carelon Health of Pennsylvania Carelon Global Solutions (Business Process Outsourcing/Shared Services) Freedom Health Florida Golden West Dental & Vision California HealthSun Florida MMM Puerto Rico Optimum Healthcare Florida Simply Healthcare Florida UniCare West Virginia WellPoint Arizona (Medicare Advantage) Iowa (Medicaid and Medicare Advantage) Maryland (Medicaid) Massachusetts (government employees) New Jersey (Medicaid and Medicare Advantage) Tennessee (Medicaid and Medicare Advantage) Texas (Medicaid and Medicare Advantage) Washington (Medicaid and Medicare Advantage)

## Joint ventures

Elevance Health operates joint ventures including:

Anthem | MaineHealth (with MaineHealth) Maine Blue Medicare Advantage (with Independence Blue Cross) Pennsylvania Colorado Community Health Alliance (with Centura Health, Physician Health Partners and Primary Physician Partners) Colorado Healthy Blue Kansas (with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City) Kansas Healthy Blue Louisiana (with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana) Louisiana Summit Community Care Arkansas Centers Plan for Healthy Living New York, Florida

## Quality of care

In 2011, in the category of "Meeting National Standards of Care," California's state patient advocacy office gave Anthem a rating of 2 out of 4 stars. In 2014, it received 3 out of 4 stars in the same category. In 2022, twenty-one of Elevance Health's affiliated Medicaid plans earned accreditation for health equity from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

## Charitable donations

In 2007, WellPoint pledged to spend $30 million over three years, through the company's charitable foundation, to help the uninsured. In March 2010, the Los Angeles Times reported that WellPoint's tax records and website showed that the company had given only $6.2 million by 2009. The company said that the foundation had indeed fulfilled its $30-million commitment by mid-2009, but refused to provide any financial details to support its claim.

## 2007 DMHC investigation

In 2007, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) investigated Anthem's policies for revoking (rescinding) health care insurance policies. The DMHC randomly selected 90 instances where Anthem canceled the insurance of policy holders who had been diagnosed with costly or life-threatening illnesses, to find how many of these cancellations were legal. The agency concluded that all these cancellations were illegal. In July 2008, Anthem Blue Cross agreed to a settlement with the California Department of Managed Health Care; however in doing so, WellPoint did not officially admit liability. To resolve allegations of improper policy rescissions (cancellations), WellPoint paid $10 million and reinstated plans for 1,770 policy-holders who were affected by cancelled policies. The company also agreed to provide compensation for any medical debts incurred by these policy-holders.

## 2010 Reuters exposé

In April 2010, Reuters alleged that Wellpoint "using a computer algorithm, identified women recently diagnosed with breast cancer and then singled them out for cancellation of their policies." The software used immediately triggered fraud investigation for those recently diagnosed with the disease as the company searched for some pretext to drop their policies. Wellpoint argued that its algorithm was scanning for diagnostic codes for conditions that patients might have known about during the insurance application. The story not only caused considerable public outrage, but it also led Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, and President Barack Obama, to call on WellPoint to end the practice. In 2011, Anthem began cancelling policies of members who had been paying premiums with credit cards, sometimes without calling or emailing the member ahead of time.

## Opposition to healthcare reform

In August 2009, Anthem, the largest for-profit insurer in California, contacted its employees and urged them to get involved to oppose healthcare reforms proposed during the Obama administration. Consumer Watchdog, a nonprofit watchdog organization in Santa Monica, asked California Attorney General Jerry Brown to investigate its claim that WellPoint had illegally pushed workers to write to their elected officials, attend town hall meetings and enlist family and friends to ensure an overhaul that would match the firm's interests. According to Consumer Watchdog, California's labor code directly prohibits coercive communications, including forbidding employers from controlling, coercing or influencing employees' political activities or affiliations. WellPoint had not been contacted by the California attorney general and had not seen any complaint. Through 2010 and into 2011, WellPoint senior executives met monthly with executives of other major health insurers to blunt the effect of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

## Sources

- Elevance Health · Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=30872197

Source: Wikipedia contributors — https://en.wikipedia.org/?curid=30872197&oldid=1371740492

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Adaptation notice: Reformatted for XPay; the source may be abridged, restructured or translated. Consult the cited revision for the original.