Internship Report At Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Of Georgia

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Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia was created through a merger between WellPoint Health Networks Inc. and Anthem, Inc. in 2004. The company originally went by WellPoint, Inc. after the merger. In December of 2014, WellPoint, Inc. tried to remodel the company by changing the parent company name to Anthem, Inc. The parent company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Company Structure

I would describe Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s business structure as being functionally organized.

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Also known as, bureaucratic organizational structure, this set up divides the company in to different sections based on expertise. As for Anthem, Inc.’s corporate office in Atlanta, the departments are strategically placed on each level of the high-rise. On the floor that I worked on, there were several different departments that sat close to each other due to work that would require close communications between the departments. For example, the underwriting department was next to the account managers, and brokers since all three worked closely together.

Everyone’s role is within workplace is plainly defined, as well as the hierarchy within each department.

Anthem, Inc.’s Future

This insurance company is one of the largest health benefits companies in the country. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield total revenue for 2017 was $90 billion dollars and has been on a steady uptake since 2013. Total medical members enrolled has grown steadily since 2013, growing from 35.7 million members to 40.2 million members enrolled. Since Anthem’s revenue and enrollment have been rising, I suspect that they will continue to grow through new mergers and new initiatives.

Before I left one of the last regional meetings I attended Jeff Fusile, president of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, announced that the company will be transitioning to a new name, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. This was done in order to create a feeling of unity with the parent company, Anthem, Inc. The new name will be official starting January 1st, 2019. Anthem is making an effort to make managing individuals healthcare easier through a new program.

What my average day looked like

My typical day at Anthem started at 8 a.m. and I would typically leave the office by 2:00 -5:00 p.m. depending on deadlines or work that I felt needed to be completed in one sitting. My base hours were 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and I worked Monday through Friday. I would start my day by checking my emails and completing any quick tasks before Jane arrived in the office. Even though I did have two direct mentors, I mostly worked with Jane Ames, Director of Business Development. When I did have the chance to work with Todd Axtell, Director of State Underwriting, it was towards the end of my time with Anthem working with the underwriting associates or in one on one meetings with him. One of my standard assignments from Jane were to verify renewal group insurance packets were correct, I made sure all links and buttons worked, all of the rates were correctly calculated, added a life and disability policy page if applicable, and create a PDF version that I would later send to the broker or account manager. Jane periodically would ask me to create a quick analysis of data from sales and our actuaries to create talking points at a meeting or updates that would be sent out via email. I attended bi-weekly meetings with Jane, business change managers, and account managers. While attending the meetings I would keep notes that would later be sent out to all that attended the meeting and elaborate on any projects or tasks that pertained to the attendees.

Special Projects

Mixed in to my everyday tasks were several large projects. One of these projects was to proofread and edit the “NEW PLAY BOOK”…… One of the longest projects I was given was to beta test a new software, this software was created by engineers at Anthem for brokers. Brokers would now be able to log in and find all of their client info, commissions, and statistics related to the features previously mentioned.

Individual meetings

I had the opportunity to spend one-on-one time with multiple upper level managers. Some of those meetings were scheduled and some spur of the moment due to them having a hour of down time. One of my first one on one meetings was with Jay Severa, Regional Vice President of Underwriting.

During this meeting he taught me the basics of underwriting. We went over the different types of funding groups. After we covered types of groups Anthem, Inc. covers, we discussed how rates are created and how the economy, new medical advances, the groups health history, and more play a role in creating rates for groups.

On my last day with Anthem, I was able to have one last meeting with Jay before I left for the last time. He wanted to see how I felt about my time with Anthem and offer any feedback on my experience so that can improve for the next intern. We then spoke about career opportunities, Jay let me know that I he would like for me to consider coming back to Anthem to work full time after graduation. He then answered questions I had about different areas that interested me, such as underwriting, business change management, and business analyst positions. Jay told me to reach out to him early in to my career search, so that he can look at open positions or even consider creating a position in an area of his team. Jay Severa was very insightful in helping me understand the process of underwriting.

I had multiple individual meetings with my mentor Todd, Director of State Underwriting. Two of my meetings with Todd consisted.

Employee Benefits

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia offers a wide variety of employee benefits, even for temporary hire such as interns. As an intern I was given a list of benefits that I did not expect to receive. Anthem offers their employees the option of either having free parking in downtown Buckhead or a free Marta pass to use at any time. I was also automatically enrolled in to a 401(K) plan, in which after your first year of employment Anthem matches 100 percent on the first 3 percent of pay you contribute and 50 percent on the next percent. As an employee you are immediately vested in the company match.

Another benefit that stood out to me was the Adoption Assistance program. This program is available for full-time and part- time employees after half a year of employment. Anthem will assist in adoption expenses for up to $10,000 for full-time employees and $5,000 for the part-time employees. Anthem also offers education assistance, all employees are eligible after half of a year of employment and before the employee/student’s first day of the course. This program is offering to up to $5,000 annually for full time employees and half of that amount for part-time employees to assist with tuition, fees, and textbooks. Along with traditional employee benefits, there were several other non-traditional benefits the company offered, including company socials on and off site, wellness fairs, transportation compensation, and PTO for volunteering during the work week. Employees are offered free parking in downtown Buckhead which also has in house car wash and detail service as well as the option to commute with a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) pass. Anthem has competitive employee benefits that they offer to recruit, retain, and help employees retire for their contributions to the company.