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Elevance’s Greedy Empire Expanding With Plan to Turn BCBS of Louisiana Into For-Profit

WASHINGTON, D.C.–People’s Action today released a statement by Health Care for All Campaign Director Aija Nemer-Aanerud in response to Elevance Health’s quarterly earnings report. Elevance announced that in 2022 they profited $8.5 billion and bought $2.3 billion in back shares, in addition to paying out $305 million in dividends to shareholders in Q4 alone:

“Elevance Health CEO’s just bragged about profiting $8.5 billion off their policyholders last year while spending $2.3 billion in share buybacks. This money is made in part by denying people’s claims, resulting in billions of dollars in medicine, surgeries, and treatments that people are forced to go without. Elevance policyholders are sicker and deeper in debt because Elevance Health prioritizes the profits of its shareholders over the care its members need. 

“Greedy corporate health insurance executives purposefully keep us in the dark about what portion of Elevance’s billions comes from denying care for their members. This year they’ll face a reckoning with their choice to put profit before people and cost over care.”

The earnings report comes days after Elevance Health (formerly known as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield) announced it would buy BCBS of Louisiana, converting one of the network’s non-profits into a for-profit entity. People’s Action Care Over Cost campaign, organizes people across the country to appeal and overturn wrongful insurance claim denials from private health insurers and to get people the care they need. Last November, Elevance Health refused to acknowledge the 70 Elevance members who visited their headquarters. Care Over Cost sent a letter last month to Elevance Health CEO Gail Boudreaux repeating their request for a meeting and demanding the reversal of claims denials, claim denial data transparency, and oversight of the appeals process.

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People’s Action builds the power of poor and working people in urban, rural, and suburban areas to win change through issue fights and elections. We are a national network of 38 state and local grassroots power-building organizations in 28 states–united in the work of building a bigger “we.”

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About People’s Action

People’s Action is a national network of 38 state and local grassroots, power-building organizations united in fighting for justice. Our organization recently released a vision for a national Homes Guarantee that has already prompted major legislation from champions including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Rashida Tlaib. We operate the largest progressive rural organizing project in the country. Prior to endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders for president, we completed a national forum series that The Nation called “the most in-depth, people-powered forum” of the 2020 cycle.”

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