Anthem vs. Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Blue Cross Blue Shield is part of the Anthem family of brands. While the two brands are related, they sell different Medicare plans in different areas. In our review, we outline the types of plans offered by Anthem vs. BCBS.
Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield is part of the Anthem family of brands. The Anthem brand name itself may sometimes be used interchangeably with another name for the company, Elevance Health.
What Is Anthem and How Is It Different From Blue Cross Blue Shield?
Blue Cross Blue Shield and its family of brands operate in a number of states. Some BCBS affiliates include:
- Florida Blue
- Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross in California
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Some non-Blue Anthem brands include:
Anthem offers a wide range of health insurance products, such as individual and family plans, standalone dental and vision policies, Medicare plans and supplemental insurance like accident, critical illness and hospital recovery coverage.
Anthem provides a number of helpful tools and resources for its members, including 24-hour telehealth and an online health care provider finder. Anthem also offers a mobile app for more seamless access to plan information and customer support features including dedicated phone numbers for each product type and live online chat for members.
Blue Cross Blue Shield offers a variety of insurance policies in some areas, including individual and family health insurance plans, dental, vision and Medicare Advantage policies.
Like Anthem, Blue Cross Blue Shield provides several tools and resources for its members but takes it all a step further with the Blue365 program that offers discounts for products and services related to fitness, eating, personal care, lifestyle and financial health. A mobile app makes it easy to access benefit information, but the customer support portal is far less user-friendly than Anthem and lacks an online chat service.
Is Anthem the Same as Blue Cross Blue Shield?
No, BCBS is part of the Anthem family of brands, but the two entities each sell health insurance in different areas of the country.
As Anthem holds licenses with Blue Cross Blue Shield, it exclusively provides its range of health insurance brands in specific states — California, New York and numerous others.
Should you reside outside these states covered by Anthem, it's advisable to explore the options offered by your local Blue Cross Blue Shield regional company.
Anthem vs. Blue Cross Blue Shield: Medicare Advantage Plan Enrollment
In 2024, 14% of all Medicare Advantage beneficiaries were enrolled in a plan from Anthem BCBS (Elevance). Non-BCBS brands from Anthem only accounted for 2% of all Medicare Advantage plan enrollment.
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