Leases (Narrative) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020	Sep. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Operating Lease, Weighted Average Remaining Lease Term	7 years	7 years	6 years
Weighted Average Discount Rate, Percent	3.26%	3.26%	4.09%
Operating lease, impairment loss	$ 224	$ 224
Lessee, Operating Lease, Not yet Commenced, Description [Abstract]
Lessee, Operating Lease, Lease Not yet Commenced, Term of Contract	12 years	12 years
Lessee, Operating Lease, Lease Not yet Commenced, Description		are expected to commence on various dates during 2020 and 2021 when the construction is complete and we take possession of the buildings
Lessee, Operating Lease, Lease Not Yet Commenced Expense	$ 142	$ 142
Minimum [Member]
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Lessee, Operating Lease, Term of Contract	1 year	1 year
Maximum [Member]
Lessee, Lease, Description [Line Items]
Lessee, Operating Lease, Term of Contract	12 years	12 years

Represents undiscounted lease payments.

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	antm_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
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- Definition

Description of lessee's operating lease that has not yet commenced. Including, but not limited to, nature of involvement with construction or design of underlying asset for lease.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888426&loc=SL77918673-209980

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- Definition

Term of lessee's operating lease not yet commenced, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

+ Details

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- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Term of lessee's operating lease, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 3
-Subparagraph (a)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888426&loc=SL77918673-209980

+ Details

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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount of loss from impairment of right-of-use asset from operating lease.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 25
-Paragraph 6
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888369&loc=SL77918431-209957

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Weighted average discount rate for operating lease calculated at point in time.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (g)(4)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888426&loc=SL77918686-209980

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 53
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888399&loc=SL77918982-209971

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Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Weighted average remaining lease term for operating lease, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 55
-Paragraph 53
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888399&loc=SL77918982-209971

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 842
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (g)(3)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=77888426&loc=SL77918686-209980

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