Are Anthem and Blue Cross the Same?

12/18/2023

Exploring the Identity: Is Anthem the Same as Blue Cross Blue Shield?

Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield are related, but they are not the same company. While they are both top health insurance providers in the USA, the big difference is that Blue Cross Blue Shield is the umbrella that is made up of several independent companies, and one of these smaller companies is Anthem.

At the State level, they are very similar, but on individual and family levels, they compete with one another as separate carriers. These two companies share many similarities, with a few key differences, which we aim to explore below.

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Distinguishing Features: How do Anthem and Blue Cross Differ?

Blue Cross Blue Shield is available in all 50 states of the USA for individual and family plans, and 47 states for Medicaid plans, while Anthem is only available in the following 14 states:

California
Connecticut
Colorado
Georgia (aka Community Health Care Plan of Georgia)
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Missouri (aka Right Choice Managed Care, Healthy Alliance Life Insurance Company, and HMO Missouri)
New Hampshire
Nevada (aka Rocky Mountain Hospital)
New York
Ohio (aka Community Insurance Company)
Virginia
Wisconsin (aka Compcare or Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Corporation)

Blue Cross Blue Shield has also been rated higher for overall customer satisfaction. Anthem is also a publicly traded for-profit company, while BCBS is a non-profit organization.

Evaluating Coverage: Anthem Health Insurance Plans vs. Blue Cross Blue Shield Coverage

Both Anthem health insurance plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield coverage use the same network of 1.7 million providers, and both offer HMO, PPO, CDHP, EPO, FSA, Medicaid, Medicare, HMO-POS, HAS, and Indemnity insurance, with telehealth options covered as well as in-person visits.

Both offer:

Dental
Family
Individual
Medicaid
Medicare
Vision
Group

Clients of both companies have many options when it comes to the type of coverage they are looking for, with choices between varied deductibles, maximum annual benefits amount, and monthly premium costs.

The Historical Context: Why Different Names Like Anthem, Blue Cross, and Blue Shield?

In the late 1920s, Blue Cross was formed as a partnership between Baylor University Hospital administrators and the patients there, who were having difficulty paying their bills. They set up a prepayment plan of 50 cents per month, which would allow each person on the plan up to 21 days of hospitalization per year.

Blue Shield started with American workers in dangerous labor jobs like mining and logging, as they needed consistent access to medical care. Employers organized to create plans that allowed their workers access to groups of physicians and individual practitioners for a monthly fee.

Both Blue Cross and Blue Shield grew over the years and began to unify in the 1940s, slowly becoming the powerhouse they are today, officially consolidating staff and operations in the 1970s, and incorporating more services like Medicare. Today they relieve worry and provide stability to over 100 million members throughout the USA.

Anthem (Anthem, Inc.) is a much newer company, which was formed in 2004 when the much older Wellpoint Health Networks Inc. (founded in the 1940s) and Anthem, Inc. merged to become the Anthem that we are familiar with today. It is currently the largest for-profit managed healthcare company in the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Analyzing Benefits: Anthem Insurance Benefits and Blue Cross Blue Shield Advantages

Both Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem have excellent health insurance coverage options. Of course, it depends on the services and policies available to you in your area of the country, but they both offer health insurance, Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement, and Medicare Part D.

Depending on where you live, your local company may also offer supplemental coverage, dental, or vision plans, as well as group health insurance that your employer or organization can offer as part of a group benefit plan.

Network and Accessibility: Blue Cross Blue Shield Network Hospitals vs. Anthem’s Network

Accessibility to services covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem is determined by your location. You may be in an area where Blue Cross Blue Shield network hospitals dominate the scene, or you may be in a town where Anthem has the hospital contract. This is a good thing to find out before you decide which insurance provider to choose, as you will want to buy insurance that is accepted at your local hospital to make things easier in case of an emergency.

Making an Informed Decision: Health Insurance Comparison Between BCBS and Anthem

When trying to decide between Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem insurance benefits, you may want to consider factors like:

Your family’s unique needs
Payment options and premium, copayment, and deductible costs
Their provider networks, and whether your current providers are listed
Whether your medications will be covered
Whether specialists are covered or if referrals are required

In a BCBS vs. Anthem cost analysis, Anthem has been found to have slightly lower monthly rates than BCBS does (although you can customize your plan with both companies to suit your budget), but Blue Cross is available in more areas and has better customer service options.

Anthem and Blue Cross in Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment: What Resurgence Behavioral Health Offers

Resurgence Behavioral Health is a substance use disorder treatment center that is in-network with both Anthem and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Our team offers high-quality drug and alcohol addiction treatment programs that use a combination of evidence-based care and holistic treatment practices to give each of our patients the best possible chance of overcoming addiction, long-term.

We have inpatient care for those who need full-time medical care, mental health treatments, or supervision as they begin their sobriety journey. These programs are structured, with behavioral therapy, one-on-one therapy sessions, group therapy, and other programs and education including nutritional counseling, life-skills programs, and exercise therapy. Patients stay inside the treatment center 24 hours a day, usually for 30 to 90 days, until they move on to the next phase of treatment.

We also offer outpatient programs, allowing patients to live outside of the facility and come in on a part-time basis for therapy, counseling, and groups, with scheduled medical appointments and psychiatric care as needed. These programs offer consistent support, connections to recovery groups in the community, and a flexible range of treatment options that can change as needs evolve.

Some of the programming we offer in our individualized treatment plans include:

Medical detox
Medication-assisted treatment plans
Dual diagnosis care for those with co-occurring mental illness
Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) and partial hospitalization programs (PHP)
Aftercare programs that can last a lifetime if needed
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Experiential Therapy
One-on-one Talk therapy
Couples and Family Therapy
12-Step or SMART Recovery Groups
Peer Process Groups

Patients can count on high-quality amenities and comforts, friendly, non-judgmental staff, and effective, safe care with full support every step of the way. If you are looking for help with a substance use disorder, or if you know somebody who may have an addiction and want more information regarding treatment or insurance, please call us today at 855-458-0050 to speak with an expert about your options.

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