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Anthem Health Care must remain in state
The State Corporation Commission will require Anthem Health Plans of Virginia to keep its customer service relations based in the state.Anthem bought Virginia-based Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield in 2002, and agreed to keep services in Virginia. It has since, in 2004, purchased Well Point Health Networks. Anthem today has close to 40,000 employees in 14 states, including 4,200 in Virginia.
In May, Anthem asked for a waiver to move some or all of those services out of the state.
Under the SCC order, Anthem will keep claims processing and claims management, quality management, medical management, customer service, provider services and network development in Virgina.
Marketing, distribution management, community relations and sales may be moved out of state, by the SCC order.
The SCC gave Anthem an opening to move some functions out of state in the future. For now, the commission decision concluded "Anthem has not met its burden of proof of persuading us that its plans ... for providing such critically important services from outside the commonwealth will not degrade the quality of communications and service to Virginians."
Doctors and health-care care groups in Virginia opposed the waiver.
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