The Board of Directors hired expert consultants to help it evaluate the business of Blue Cross and to help develop possible solutions to Blue Cross's financial problems. The initial options considered by the Blue Cross Board ranged from obtaining loans or investments from outside sources to affiliating with a larger financially stronger company. By the spring of 1999, it became apparent to the Board of Directors that Blue Cross would require more than a simple loan. The Board asked its consultants to seek out potential partners with which to affiliate. The Board wished to find an interested party who had experience operating Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, who would be committed to Maine and who had the financial stability to protect Maine policyholders in the future.
Anthem is a mutual insurance company headquartered in Indiana.
Anthem, one of the largest health insurers in the United States, owns and operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans across the United States, including New Hampshire and Connecticut. The structure of the transaction between Blue Cross and Anthem consists of a series of separate but related steps, all of which were required to be reviewed by the Superintendent. First, in accordance with a law passed by the Maine Legislature in 1997, Blue Cross will change its organizational form from a nonprofit hospital and medical service organization to a for-profit stock health insurer. Once these steps are accomplished, the converted Blue Cross company will sell virtually all of its assets and liabilities to Anthem Maine. The sale proceeds will then be transferred to the Charitable Foundation followed by the payment of certain costs and expenses.