NU Online News Service, Aug. 17, 11:36 a.m. – Anthem Insurance Companies Inc., Indianapolis, is mailing information packets and proxies to policyholders who are eligible to vote on its demutualization plan.
Members who want to vote must mail their proxies by Oct. 29, or vote in person on that date at a special member meeting in Indianapolis.
Anthem needs the approval of two-thirds of the members who vote to proceed with demutualization.
Anthem is a for-profit, policyholder-owned mutual life and health insurer that holds the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licenses for Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Colorado, Nevada and Maine.
Board members want to turn the company into a shareholder-owned stock company, by giving eligible members the full value of the company in cash and stock to compensate them for the loss of policy-based ownership rights, then selling some stock in a newly formed parent company, Anthem Inc., to public investors.
The Anthem board wants to complete the conversion by Dec. 31.
