Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage: Strengths, Weaknesses, and What to Know

Anthem is the brand you actually see on the plan card, and it is one of the most recognized names in Medicare Advantage. Behind it is Elevance Health, the corporate parent that renamed itself from Anthem in 2022 but still markets its Blue Cross Blue Shield plans to consumers as Anthem in the fourteen states where it holds those licenses. For a Medicare shopper the practical brand is Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, so that is how we will look at it here, noting Elevance as the company behind the name. Anthem rebranded its corporate identity as Elevance Health in 2022, though it continues to operate Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in fourteen states and Medicare Advantage plans under both the Elevance and BCBS names. The rebranding reflects Elevance's expansion beyond traditional insurance into health services, but for Medicare beneficiaries, the practical product is still BCBS or Anthem-branded Medicare Advantage and supplement plans in the states where the company operates its BCBS affiliates.

Bryce's Take

In the states where Elevance operates BCBS plans, the local brand trust is real and the physician networks tend to be strong because those relationships were built over decades. The thing to watch is the star rating for the specific contract in your county, because Elevance has some of their best-performing plans and some of their worst under the same BCBS umbrella depending on the state.

Overview of Anthem Medicare plans

Anthem, through its parent Elevance Health, operates Medicare Advantage plans in the states where it holds Blue Cross Blue Shield licenses: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin. In these states, the plans are marketed as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and benefit from strong local name recognition. In other states, the same parent company markets Medicare plans under different brands such as Wellpoint and Simply Healthcare rather than Anthem.

Strengths

The BCBS brand carries significant name trust in most markets. Elevance's plans in its core BCBS states often have strong local provider networks built over decades of relationships with regional health systems. Many Elevance plans include SilverSneakers or similar fitness benefits. In states where Elevance is the dominant BCBS affiliate, access to well-credentialed physicians in-network is typically strong. The company has also been expanding its behavioral health integration and value-based care programs.

Weaknesses

Elevance is not available in all states, since it only operates BCBS affiliates in 14 states, and its non-BCBS presence in other markets is more limited. Prior authorization requirements are consistent with large national carriers. Star ratings vary significantly by market. The 2022 rebranding created some consumer confusion about the relationship between Elevance and BCBS in affected states.

Plan types and what they offer

Elevance offers HMO, PPO, and PPO-network plans under its BCBS Medicare branding in its operating states. Plans typically include dental, vision, and hearing benefits at various levels, Part D drug coverage in most markets, and the usual zero-premium or low-premium structure. Dual Eligible SNPs are available in most operating states.

Star ratings history

Elevance's star ratings vary considerably by state and contract. Some BCBS contracts under the Elevance umbrella earn four or five stars; others earn three or below. Performance tends to be stronger in states where the BCBS affiliate has longstanding market presence and deep provider relationships.

How big is Anthem, and its parent Elevance?

Elevance Health, the company formerly known as Anthem, is one of the largest health insurers in the country, with revenue as of 2024 running roughly in the range of $170 billion and net income somewhere around six billion. It operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across fourteen states, and it covers several million Medicare Advantage members through those BCBS-branded plans, which is where most enrollees encounter it. The 2022 rebrand reflected a push beyond traditional insurance into health services, but for Medicare beneficiaries the practical product is still Anthem or BCBS-branded coverage in the states where it holds those licenses. As with every carrier here, these numbers are approximate, reflect where things stood as of 2024, and change every year, so treat them as a sense of scale rather than exact current figures.

What members actually say

Elevance benefits from strong regional Blue Cross Blue Shield brand trust, and member sentiment tends to be decent, buoyed by that familiarity and by physician networks built over decades in its core states. The honest caveat is that quality varies a great deal by state, since a well-run BCBS affiliate in one market can sit alongside a weaker one under the same corporate umbrella. The 2022 rebrand also created some consumer confusion about how Elevance relates to BCBS in the affected states. On star ratings the picture is uneven, with some contracts earning four or five stars and others landing at three or below, so local reputation tells you far more than the parent company name.

The trend: is Anthem adding or cutting benefits?

Relative to its peers, Elevance has looked comparatively stable, but stable does not mean untouched, and it has still been trimming supplemental benefits for the 2025 and 2026 plan years. That fits the industry-wide squeeze in which CMS rate changes, the phase-in of the v28 risk-adjustment model, and rising medical costs led carriers across the board to exit counties, reduce dental, OTC, and flex allowances, raise out-of-pocket maximums, and narrow networks, with nearly two million members nationwide ending up in discontinued plans. So the honest answer is yes, Elevance is cutting at the margins, just less dramatically than some peers. Because benefits reset every year during the Annual Enrollment Period, the only reliable way to know what a specific Elevance or BCBS plan offers for the coming year is to compare the current-year details for your zip code, which a quick call can sort out.

Who Anthem tends to fit well

Anthem plans tend to work well for enrollees in states where the BCBS brand has deep community ties and broad physician networks, those who have had positive BCBS experiences with employer coverage and want to stay in a familiar system, and enrollees who value the local credibility of a BCBS brand with strong regional hospital relationships.

Bryce Casson

Licensed Independent Medicare Broker

Bryce Casson is an independent Medicare insurance broker who works with every major carrier. He does not represent any single insurer, which means his recommendations are based on what actually fits each client's situation, not on commissions or quotas.