The Indiana Chamber of Commerce this week said it is ending ties with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield as the provider of the pooled health benefits plan it created for Hoosier small businesses. However, the insurance provider says the source of the issue is in the Chamber’s proposed changes.
The Indiana Chamber-endorsed health plan, called ChamberCare Health Alliance, offers group coverage to employers with between two and 50 employees. The plan provides coverage for nearly 1,500 small businesses with about 12,500 employees.
“The ChamberCare trust was negotiating in good faith with Anthem to set those rates for the upcoming year,” Indiana Chamber CEO Vanessa Green Sinders said.
She said the trust—an organization that makes decisions on behalf of ChamberCare—has a fiduciary duty to ensure that the plan offers members the best possible value and rates. As part of that evaluation, a hired outside organization identified “long-term cost saving opportunities that are in the millions,” Green Sinders said.
“The trust brought that information to Anthem, and Anthem refused to negotiate on that,” she said, adding that Anthem did not issue a renewal offer.
Anthem is part of Indianapolis-based health insurance giant Elevance Health.
The small-business coverage—officially called the ChamberCare Health Alliance—is a health plan known as a multiple employer welfare arrangement, or MEWA, which allows multiple employers to pool together for better coverage.
Green Sinders said the ChamberCare plan over six years has had premiums about 35% lower than those offered on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace for coverage.
In a written statement sent to IBJ, an Anthem spokesperson said the company had decided not to renew after the ChamberCare trust approached them with changes they believed would harm client experience.
“We are proud of the partnership and success we have shared with the ChamberCare Health Alliance (CHA) MEWA since 2019 and remain steadfast in our commitment to Indiana employers and their employees,” the Anthem spokesperson said in an email.
“However, recent changes introduced by the Trust overseeing the MEWA, including added administrative costs and the planned removal of key support roles, present challenges that we believe would compromise the experience of our members and employer clients.”
As a result, Anthem said, it decided not to renew to serve as third-party administrator, but added: “We are actively exploring new solutions to meet the evolving needs of small businesses across the state.”
According to Kaiser Family Foundation data, Elevance in 2023 held about 68% in Indiana of the large-group market, up from 62% a decade ago, when the company was called WellPoint.
The prices employers pay for health coverage has been a hot topic in Indiana in recent months, in part because of a new law that targets prices changed by hospitals.
The Indiana Chamber said it is transitioning on October 1 to SIHO Insurance Services, based in Columbus, Indiana.
SIHO is making an increased push in the Indianapolis area. The city of Fishers uses SIHO as an administrator for its direct-to-employer plan with hospital system Community Health Network.
What’s more, SIHO on Thursday will host its inaugural SIHO Summer Summit at the Fishers Event Center on employer-sponsored coverage. The insurer also recently opened an office in Indianapolis.
“SIHO has a Indiana-based customer service team to respond to questions and resolve problems quickly,” Green Sinders said.