Anthem launches Wellpoint health plan, Carelon health services brands

Dive Brief:

Anthem on Wednesday announced the launch of health plan brand Wellpoint and healthcare services brand Carelon as the payer moves closer to its corporate rebranding to Elevance Health, scheduled to be completed later this month.
As part of the move, meant to streamline Anthem’s brand portfolio and reduce complexities, the Wellpoint business will bring together Anthem’s Medicare, Medicaid and commercial health plans in select markets over the next few years. The company won’t include the company’s affiliated Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross health plans.
Carelon, which will comprise Anthem’s current capabilities and services businesses, is expected to serve one in three people in the U.S. when its transition is finalized in two years, according to the company.

Dive Insight:

Anthem announced in March that it planned to rebrand as Elevance, a transition that’s expected to be completed when the Indianapolis-based payer starts trading under the ticker symbol ELV on June 28. The name change, meant to reflect the company’s offerings beyond just health insurance, is the company’s second in the past decade.

Before 2014, the company was known as WellPoint, created from the merger of health benefits companies Anthem and WellPoint in 2004.

Now, Anthem appears to be returning to its roots, solidifying its health plan brand as Wellpoint moving forward.

In a statement, Anthem CEO Gail Bourdeaux said unifying Anthem’s plans under one banner will help consumers and providers better understand Anthem’s set of products and services.

Payers have been focusing more on nontraditional offerings to diversify revenue and find new growth streams. Cigna in 2020 rebranded its health services arm as Evernorth, and the division has consistently helped boost the payer’s bottom line. Similarly, UnitedHealth’s Optum is a major growth area for the Minnesota-based healthcare company.

Anthem’s new health services brand, Carelon — a combination of the word ‘care’ and suffix ‘lon’, meaning full and complete — is meant to suggest the importance of providing full and complete care, Anthem said.

The division’s services include research, integrated care delivery, pharmacy, behavioral health and digital platform and technology services. Carelon also plans to partner with other healthcare companies on digital products to improve outcomes and reduce the total cost of care.