Health insurer Anthem Blue Cross and seven competing health systems in Southern California are joining forces to create a new health plan that executives believe will enhance competition in the area while reducing healthcare costs.
Anthem, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based WellPoint (which will be renamed Anthem later this year), said the new Anthem Blue Cross Vivity plan will be similar to an HMO. Vivity members will be able to go to hospitals and doctors at Cedars-Sinai Health System, Good Samaritan Hospital and UCLA Health, all in Los Angeles; MemorialCare Health System, based in Fountain Valley; PIH Health, Whittier; Torrance (Calif.) Memorial Medical Center; and Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, without having to pay a deductible—patients will only have to pay monthly premiums and copayments, which were not detailed.