Anthem Will Soon Be Elevance Health – Kaiser Health News

The name change is pending stockholder approval in a vote scheduled for May 18. The names of the health plans at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield will not change. The company, based in Indianapolis, wants to reframe itself as a company with a broader portfolio and focus than its traditional business of health insurance, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Indianapolis Star:
Anthem To Change Name To Elevance Health To Reflect Bump In Offerings

Following in the footsteps of Alphabet and Meta , who are the parent companies of Google and Facebook, Indianapolis-based Anthem, Inc. officials said Thursday they have a name change in the works as well. Pending stockholder approval, the health insurance company currently known as Anthem plans to become Elevance Health. The names of the health plans at Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield will not change; however, the company said in a news release it will “streamline the number of other brands in the market to reduce complexities and improve consumer experiences.” (Rudavsky, 3/10)

The Wall Street Journal:
Blue Cross Blue Shield Owner Anthem Seeks To Change Name To Elevance Health

Anthem Inc. plans to change its name to Elevance Health Inc., aiming to recast itself as a company with a broader portfolio and focus than its traditional business of health insurance. Anthem, which owns Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states, will need shareholder approval to make the change. The vote is scheduled to occur May 18. (Mathews, 3/10)

And more from the health insurance industry —

Modern Healthcare:
Insurtechs’ Big Losses Overshadow 2021 Revenue Growth

Oscar Health, Clover Health, Bright Health Group and Alignment Healthcare, the “insurtechs” that are supposed to transform the health insurance industry, just keep losing money. These companies accumulated $2.5 billion in losses since they went public last year and they continue to lose money on every member they insure. Their valuations have fallen $22.9 billion during the same period. While significant enrollment growth generated high revenues for Oscar Health, Clover Health and Bright Health Group, their new members’ medical costs led to net losses that crested more than half billion dollars for each company. Clover Health notched the biggest per-member loses among the trio at more than $4,500 apiece for its 130,000 Medicare Advantage and Direct Contracting customers. (Tepper, 3/10)

Modern Healthcare:
Increasing Liability Premiums Could Push Independent Physicians To Consolidate

The percentage of medical liability insurance premiums with year-to-year increases has surged for the third year in a row, a trend that could negatively affect independent providers who have experienced relatively low rates and a soft market for roughly the past 20 years. While the proportion of medical liability premiums with annual increases was somewhat stable between 2010 and 2018, in 2019 around 27% of premiums saw increases—nearly twice the rate from the previous year, according to a recent analysis by the American Medical Association. In both 2020 and 2021, roughly 30% of premiums increased, with a number of states reporting double-digit increases. (Devereaux, 3/10)

In other health care industry news —

WUSF Public Media:
Florida’s Hospital Systems Remained Profitable In 2020 Despite Pandemic, Report Says 

A recent report shows that Florida’s hospitals remained profitable in 2020 despite enormous pressures created by the coronavirus pandemic. In the Tampa-St. Petersburg region hospitals improved their profit margins from 8.8 percent in 2018 to 10 percent in 2020, according to the report. Hospitals in South Florida reported a net income of $1.59 billion, or 9.6% of net patient revenues in 2020, compared to 11.7% in 2019, the report said. During this time, hospital systems faced higher expenses due to the pandemic and reduced revenues because they had to suspend lucrative elective surgeries for part of 2020. But many hospitals received federal funding and found other ways to overcome their revenue losses, said Allen Baumgarten, author of the Florida Health Market Review, which publishes revenue data on hospitals. (Bruner, 3/10)

Crain’s Chicago Business:
Pipeline Health To Sell Remaining Chicago-Area Hospitals, West Suburban And Weiss Memorial

The owner of Chicago-area facilities West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park and Weiss Memorial Hospital in Uptown is looking to sell the facilities after a contentious ownership tenure that early on resulted in the controversial closing of Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park. Los Angeles-based Pipeline Health has signed a letter of intent to sell the two remaining acute-care hospitals and their campus properties to the newly formed healthcare firm Resilience Healthcare for $92 million. The two entities are working to file an application with the Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board, which has to approve the sale. (Davis, 3/10)

Crain’s Detroit Business:
Henry Ford Health Joins Newly Formed Alliance To Improve Workforce

Henry Ford Health System announced Thursday that it has joined a new alliance with five other hospitals across the U.S. to improve staffing needs. The alliance, called Evolve Health Alliance, will share human resources best practices on the well-being of employees, workforce data, implementation of diversity and inclusion programs, reciprocal agreements to help staffing and other functions. Its members include AdventHealth in Altamonte Springs, Fla., Atrium Health in Charlotte, N.C., Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, N.Y., OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio, and HFHS. (Walsh, 3/10)

The Baltimore Sun:
Same White Doctor’s Coat, But Less Pay In The Pockets For Women, Black Doctors In Maryland 

Salaries for female doctors in Maryland are significantly below those of their male counterparts. Asian doctors’ income is more than white doctors’ income, which is more than Black doctors earn. And all the state’s doctors average incomes below their peers nationwide. This is according to a new report commissioned by MedChi, a state medical society, which found similar disparities two years earlier. Officials could not explain why the gaps persist, though the U.S. Department of Labor reports unequal paychecks can be found in every state. That includes Maryland, though the state has relatively smaller earnings disparities. (Cohn, 3/11)

This is part of the KHN Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.