Earlier, we shed light on how Anthem is running the same harmful playbook across the country—prioritizing profits over patients. The ongoing dispute between Anthem and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) as well as Mercy underscores the same problem: if Anthem doesn’t come to the table, patients will lose access to life-saving care and face higher costs elsewhere. It shouldn’t be this way.
Now, another example is pushing the point further. Anthem isn’t just failing to put patients first—it’s failing the very employers who trust them to administer health plans. Case in point: Owens & Minor, a healthcare logistics company, is suing Anthem for refusing to share critical claims data, overpaying on certain claims, and pocketing kickbacks at their expense.
The facts of the lawsuit paint a troubling picture. Owens & Minor spent two years chasing Anthem for access to their own health plan data. Anthem stonewalled at every turn, first claiming they couldn’t provide the information, then outright refusing to do so. When Owens & Minor finally secured some of the data through legal action, they discovered Anthem had allegedly overpaid millions in claims, secured hidden rebates, and billed for services that never happened.
If this doesn’t make it clear that Anthem’s priorities are all about the almighty dollar, just look at the facts. Whether it’s strong-arming a world-renowned cancer center like MSK and Mercy or exploiting their own self-insured “partners,” Anthem’s actions consistently drive up costs for patients, employers, and providers alike.
In the MSK case, Anthem is risking patients’ access to specialized cancer care, while leaving them to pay more for services at other providers. For Owens & Minor, Anthem’s refusal to be transparent has directly impacted the company’s ability to verify how plan dollars are being used. These are two sides of the same coin: a health insurer leveraging secrecy and power to pad its own bottom line.
The pattern is clear. From hospitals to employers, no one is safe from Anthem’s profit-driven tactics. They’re cutting corners, pocketing rebates, and using tactics designed to prevent accountability. Whether it’s a health system trying to negotiate a fair deal or a self-insured employer demanding transparency, Anthem’s actions consistently prioritize profits over people.
It’s time for all of us—patients, employers, and providers—to demand more. Insurers like Anthem need to stop hiding behind bureaucracy and start delivering on their promises of affordability and access. Transparency isn’t optional. Patients shouldn’t have to lose access to care. Employers shouldn’t have to sue just to get a straight answer.
Anthem likes to call themselves a partner in healthcare. But from MSK to Owens & Minor to Mercy, it’s clear they’re only in it for themselves.
