The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is severing ties with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Photo from Indiana Chamber of Commerce Building.

News Release

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Chamber of Commerce is severing ties with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield as the provider of its health benefits plan for small businesses, citing a failure to reach agreement on new terms for the plans’s future.

The decision affects the ChamberCare Health Alliance, a pooled health coverage program serving nearly 1,500 Indiana small businesses and approximately 12,500 employees. The plan, created for employers with between two and 50 workers, has operated as a multiple employer welfare arrangement, or MEWA, which allows companies to band together for more affordable group coverage.

According to Chamber officials, the organization’s health plan trust was engaged in rate negotiations for the upcoming year when it identified what it described as significant, long-term cost-saving opportunities. Those findings, provided by an external consultant, were presented to Anthem, which the Chamber said declined to negotiate and opted not to provide a renewal offer.

The Chamber said it has a fiduciary responsibility to offer members competitive rates and value, and that the potential cost savings identified were worth pursuing. Over the past six years, the ChamberCare plan has offered premiums that were, on average, about 35% lower than those found on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, the Chamber said.

Anthem, a unit of Indianapolis-based Elevance Health, disputed the Chamber’s account, attributing the breakdown to recent changes introduced by the trust. In a written statement, the insurer said those changes included increased administrative costs and the removal of key support roles, moves Anthem said would compromise service for clients and members.

As a result, Anthem declined to renew its role as a third-party administrator, though it emphasized its ongoing commitment to supporting small businesses in Indiana and indicated it is developing alternative health coverage options for the market.

Elevance held about 68% of Indiana’s large-group health insurance market in 2023, according to the Kaiser family foundation, an increase from 62% a decade ago when the company operated under the name WellPoint.

Amid increasing scrutiny of employer health care costs in Indiana, including new state legislation targeting hospital pricing, the Chamber is transitioning to SIHO Insurance Services, based in Columbus. The switch will take effect Wednesday, Oct. 1.

SIHO, which has been expanding in central Indiana, currently administers a direct-to-employer plan for the city of Fishers in partnership with Community Health Network. The company recently opened an Indianapolis office and is hosting its first SIHO Summer Summit this week at the Fishers Event Center to highlight trends in employer-sponsored coverage.

Chamber leaders pointed to SIHO’s in-state customer service operations as a key factor in the transition, citing expectations for faster problem resolution and more responsive support for member businesses.