In the new health insurance economy, where individual consumers have more and more choices, a health plan's brand is one of its biggest asset. Sometimes it has to be changed.
WellPoint, the parent of Blue Cross-licensed plans in 14 states, is shedding that moniker and doubling down on the Anthem brand already in use by most of its companies.
One decade after WellPoint Health Networks and Anthem merged into the nation's largest for-profit, publicly-traded Blue Cross company, the insurer is changing its corporate name to Anthem, Inc in a "move toward greater consistency and clarity and direct relationships with customers," said president and CEO Joseph Swedish.
"Brand is a significant driver of consumer purchasing decisions across our businesses. As we move closer to a consumer-centric marketplace, we believe Anthem is the best brand to lead our company forward to becoming a more consumer capable company," said Swedish, who spent most of his career as a health system executive, most recently at Trinity Health, before working in insurance.
"Changing the corporate brand to Anthem is an important expression of our commitment to serve as a trusted partner in health," Swedish continued. "Millions of people experience this promise every day through the work our family of companies do to provide information and tools to empower individuals to better understand and manage their health. Trust is central to who we are and what we stand for as a company."
The name change is expected to be completed sometime later this year, pending shareholder approval at a meeting in Indianapolis in November.
Most of WellPoint's 37 million members know the company through their Anthem Blue Cross plans. But as more consumers buy their own individual plans in public exchanges, where a great many Anthem plans are for sale, insurers can expect them to be doing more research before making a decision.
While the average consumer may not be interested in learning about detailed corporate ownership structures, some could get confused when a search for one name shows results for a differently-named parent company. One name simplifies the brand across channels, particularly on the internet.
"As consumer engagement is heightened," Swedish said, "we recognize that brand--an indicator of trust and a predictor of willingness to engage--is going to be of increasing importance."