Organization	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization	Organization References to the terms “we,” “our,” “us” or “Anthem” used throughout these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements refer to Anthem, Inc., an Indiana corporation, and unless the context otherwise requires, its direct and indirect subsidiaries. We are one of the largest health benefits companies in the United States in terms of medical membership, serving 40.3 medical members through our affiliated health plans as of September 30, 2017. We offer a broad spectrum of network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. Our managed care plans include: preferred provider organizations, or PPOs; health maintenance organizations, or HMOs; point-of-service, or POS, plans; traditional indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans, or CDHPs; and hospital only and limited benefit products. In addition, we provide a broad array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. We provide an array of specialty and other insurance products and services such as dental, vision, life and disability insurance benefits, radiology benefit management and analytics-driven personal health care. We also provide services to the federal government in connection with the Federal Employee Program^®. We are an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, or BCBSA, an association of independent health benefit plans. We serve our members as the Blue Cross licensee for California and as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield, or BCBS, licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as BCBS in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties, and as Blue Cross or BCBS in selected upstate counties), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.) and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, we do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield or Empire Blue Cross (in our New York service areas). We also conduct business through arrangements with other BCBS licensees in South Carolina and western New York. Through our AMERIGROUP Corporation subsidiary and other subsidiaries, we conduct business in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Washington, D.C. In addition, we conduct business through our Simply Healthcare Holdings, Inc. subsidiary in Florida. We also serve customers throughout the country as HealthLink, UniCare, and in certain Arizona, California, Nevada, Tennessee and Virginia markets through our CareMore Health Group, Inc., or CareMore, subsidiary. We are licensed to conduct insurance operations in all 50 states through our subsidiaries.

Organization

References to the terms “we,” “our,” “us” or “Anthem” used throughout these Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements refer to Anthem, Inc., an Indiana corporation, and unless the context otherwise requires, its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

We are one of the largest health benefits companies in the United States in terms of medical membership, serving 40.3 medical members through our affiliated health plans as of September 30, 2017. We offer a broad spectrum of network-based managed care plans to large and small employer, individual, Medicaid and Medicare markets. Our managed care plans include: preferred provider organizations, or PPOs; health maintenance organizations, or HMOs; point-of-service, or POS, plans; traditional indemnity plans and other hybrid plans, including consumer-driven health plans, or CDHPs; and hospital only and limited benefit products. In addition, we provide a broad array of managed care services to self-funded customers, including claims processing, underwriting, stop loss insurance, actuarial services, provider network access, medical cost management, disease management, wellness programs and other administrative services. We provide an array of specialty and other insurance products and services such as dental, vision, life and disability insurance benefits, radiology benefit management and analytics-driven personal health care. We also provide services to the federal government in connection with the Federal Employee Program^®.

We are an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, or BCBSA, an association of independent health benefit plans. We serve our members as the Blue Cross licensee for California and as the Blue Cross and Blue Shield, or BCBS, licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as BCBS in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties, and as Blue Cross or BCBS in selected upstate counties), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.) and Wisconsin. In a majority of these service areas, we do business as Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield or Empire Blue Cross (in our New York service areas). We also conduct business through arrangements with other BCBS licensees in South Carolina and western New York. Through our AMERIGROUP Corporation subsidiary and other subsidiaries, we conduct business in Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Washington, D.C. In addition, we conduct business through our Simply Healthcare Holdings, Inc. subsidiary in Florida. We also serve customers throughout the country as HealthLink, UniCare, and in certain Arizona, California, Nevada, Tennessee and Virginia markets through our CareMore Health Group, Inc., or CareMore, subsidiary. We are licensed to conduct insurance operations in all 50 states through our subsidiaries.