Addressing Healthcare Affordability in Virginia

Delivering Better Health Through Affordable Care

At Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, we’re committed to advancing access to affordable care for our members across Virginia. Affordability is central to improving health outcomes and creating a better member experience — where people can get the care they need, when they need it.

What’s Driving Costs

 

There are many factors driving up healthcare costs, which ripple across families, businesses, and communities. Some of the biggest include:

 

  • Aging population – More older adults need more complex and costly care.
  • Chronic conditions – Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are becoming more common and more expensive to treat.
  • Drug costs – Prices of existing and specialty drugs continue to rise faster than inflation, with new drugs launching at record-high prices.
  • Provider consolidation – When hospitals and physician groups merge, it often leads to higher prices and fewer choices.
  • Fraud, waste, and abuse – The complexity of our system makes it easier for inefficiencies to occur.
  • Legislation – Recent federal and state changes continue to add costs to the system year after year.

 

Given the complex nature of healthcare costs, Anthem is focused on solutions that go beyond traditional cost-control measures — to create lasting affordability for Virginia families.

 

See our recent articles in the Norfolk Business Journal and Richmond Business Journal about what we're doing, and keep reading below.

What We’re Doing to Improve Healthcare Affordability

 

 

Here are some of the ways Anthem is working today to make healthcare more affordable in Virginia:

 

  • Helping seniors manage complex care so they avoid unnecessary hospital stays.
  • Offering programs that help members better manage chronic conditions and prevent costly complications.
  • Negotiating lower prices for prescription drugs, particularly expensive specialty medications.
  • Implementing value-based care models with providers across the state so they’re rewarded for delivering quality care, not more services.
  • Giving members in certain plans rewards through programs like SmartShopper when they compare prices and choose high-quality, lower-cost care.
  • Using AI and advanced analytics to detect potential fraud and reduce waste.
  • Advocating for policies at both the state and federal levels that promote affordability, transparency, and access.

Investing in Our Communities

 

We know that affordability isn’t just about medical costs — it’s also about addressing the social drivers of health that affect well-being and access to care.

 

Through the Anthem Foundation, we’re partnering with Virginia organizations to improve maternal health, address food insecurity, and support behavioral health and recovery services.

 

Recent investments include:

 

  • Urban Baby Beginnings’ Project ReByrth, expanding community-based Maternal Health Hubs in Richmond and Norfolk.
  • The Up Center’s Maternal Health Hub and Birth In Color, supporting new parents through inclusive and community-based care.
  • Feeding America’s “Food As Medicine 3.0” initiative, connecting local food banks and hospitals to screen for and address food insecurity.
  • Postpartum Support Virginia, improving maternal mental health through peer support and provider education.

 

By addressing these social and economic barriers, we’re helping Virginians live healthier lives — and reducing the long-term costs that make healthcare less affordable for everyone.

 

Working together with policymakers, healthcare providers, employers, and community organizations, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Virginia is on a mission to make healthcare more affordable, accessible, and effective for all Virginians.