Anthem Blue Cross Group Health Insurance for California Employers

Anthem Blue Cross is the Blue Cross licensee in California. It is not the same company as Blue Shield of California – they are unrelated competitors, and there is no such company as “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of California.” If you are comparing the two for your group, see our Blue Shield of California group page.

What Anthem sells to California employers

• Small group plans (1-100 employees): HMO, PPO and EPO designs, including HSA-compatible high-deductible options.
• Large group plans (101+): fully insured and self-funded (ASO) arrangements.
• Add-on lines: dental, vision, life and disability, which can be bundled for administrative simplicity.

Network and regulation

Anthem runs one of the largest PPO networks in California, which is the usual reason employers pick it over narrower-network carriers. Depending on the product, oversight sits with the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) or the California Department of Insurance (CDI) – HMO plans and most managed care products are DMHC, while certain PPO products issued through Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health are CDI.

What we tell employers

Anthem fits groups that want broad provider access statewide, employees spread across counties, or BlueCard access for out-of-state staff. It is rarely the cheapest option in any one region – carriers with narrower networks like Kaiser or Health Net often beat it on price when employees are concentrated in one area. A common strategy is dual option: Anthem PPO alongside a lower-cost HMO.

Getting Anthem group quotes

Small group rates in California are member-level age rated with no health underwriting – the same plan has the same rate through any broker, so using us costs nothing extra and gets you side-by-side comparisons with every other carrier on this page.

Reviewed August 2026. Plan availability, networks and rates vary by county and group size. We never publish premiums we cannot verify for California – request a quote for real numbers.