Anthem, hospitals join to offer new insurance plan

LOS ANGELES — Insurer Anthem Blue Cross is joining with several prominent Southern California hospitals to offer a new type of insurance plan it promises will provide high-quality care at affordable prices.

The move brings together one of the nation’s largest health insurers with such providers as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and the UCLA Health System.

The Los Angeles Times reports the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the nation’s second-largest buyer of health insurance, has already signed on as one of joint venture’s first customers.

Vivity, as the joint venture will be known, is expected to provide competition to Kaiser Permanente, the health maintenance organization currently favored by the largest number of California employers providing insurance coverage to workers.

ALSO: Hospitals and insurer join forces in California (New York Times)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS