As an insurance provider and company, Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance no longer exists. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield were produced through a merger between The Associated Group and Community Mutual Insurance Company. The hybrid then merged again with Blue Cross in 2004, expanding greatly to take advantage of cost benefits with size. The company merged again with Wellpoint in the same year.
Once the merger was finalized, the company released a number of products to capture different levels of the market. Blue Access Economy was one such product, aimed at offsetting the drooping economy and rising costs of healthcare at the time. These plans packed a large deductible cost for a customer and were intended to be used only as catastrophic coverage. Not surprisingly, Anthem marketed heavily at the time to college-age students and post-college people with generally good health in their age bracket but still needing some basic safety net coverage.
Wellpoint today is now what's left of Anthem, and the company is primarily focused on providing health benefits to U.S. customers. The company delivers policies through distribution networks and focuses on selling employer health care plans to companies. Wellpoint also sells specialty disability policies and life insurance to individuals, as well as dental, behavioral health, and vision. The current company is now headquartered in Indiana and works as a separate licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Operations and sales happen in 15 states, covering most of the major areas of the state from the Pacific to the Midwest to the northeastern seaboard.
