Anthem Blue Cross 2003 Annual Report Download - page 21

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 21 of the 2003 Anthem Blue Cross annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 36

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36

ANTHEM, INC. page 19
quality
A time for choice
As employers and individuals continue to balance their health benefits with the cost of those
benefits, Anthem is responding by offering innovative health plans designed to meet the demand for
both benefits and value. We offer a portfolio of products that provide a wide variety of benefit
options and a broad range of prices—more than a 60 percent difference between our lowest and
highest priced products.
One of the choices we offer is Anthem ByDesign, which provides employers and their employees
with a number of benefit options from which to choose. In 2003, Anthem offered two Anthem
ByDesign products: one especially for small and mid-size employers and one for large, national
employers. Both provide more choices, help employers and employees manage health care costs, and
encourage individuals to become more involved in their own health care. Smaller employers can offer
employees a core benefits package by choosing from among health, dental, vision, life, disability and
prescription drug benefits. Employees then can either select the core benefits package or choose from
a variety of alternatives depending upon their individual preference and situation. During 2003, the
first year for this product, small employers who chose Anthem ByDesign saved about $6 million
collectively in annual health insurance premiums and on average, experienced a 12 percent savings in
premiums, keeping their premium increases below the national average. Anthem ByDesign for large
employers features a “personal care account” that’s funded by the employer. Employees can use this
account to pay for eligible health expenses.
The growth of our specialty business product line adds even more choices. Customers can
complement their basic health coverage with prescription drug benefits, dental and vision care,
behavioral health programs and group life insurance.
Anthem Prescription Management now serves 7 million customers. It is our largest specialty
product and an industry success story. Anthem Prescription offers members convenience and
cost-savings with its mail-order pharmacy, which handled about 2.6 million new prescriptions,
a nearly 29 percent increase from 2002. Prescriptions can be ordered any time online, and a discount