Elevance Health, Inc.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by and welcome to Anthem first quarter earning conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Later, we will conduct a question and answer session. Instructions will be given at that time. If you should require assistance during the call, please press star and then zero. As a reminder, today's conference is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to the company's management. Please go ahead.

Good morning. and welcome to Anthem's first quarter 2020 earnings call. This is Chris Rigg, Vice President of Investor Relations. And with us this morning are Gail Boudreau, President and CEO, John Galena, our CFO, Pete Hytian, President of our Commercial and Specialty Business Division, and Felicia Norwood, President of our Government Business Division. During the call, we will reference certain non-GAAP measures. Reconciliations of these non-GAAP measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures are available on our website at antheminc.com. We will also be making some forward-looking statements on this call. Listeners are cautioned that these statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Anthem. These risks and uncertainties can cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. We advise listeners to carefully review the risk factors discussed in today's press release and in our quarterly filings with the SEC. I will now turn the call over to Gail.

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Across the globe and right here at home, we're facing a critical humanitarian crisis. All of us are impacted, and our hearts go out to those struggling. I will focus my comments this morning on the impact of the COVID-19 global health crisis on our business, along with the actions we've taken to provide support and relief. I will direct you to the earnings released for the financial results for the first quarter. Let me begin by saying how incredibly grateful I am to the men and women, including many of Anthem's own clinical associates, fighting on the front lines of this healthcare crisis, from small rural communities to the heart of New York City. I am also incredibly proud of the more than 77,000 Anthem associates who have been providing compassionate and tireless support for our customers, members, care providers, and communities each day as we battle this pandemic together. To ensure the safety and health of our associates and support the nationwide effort to contain the virus, in March, we began transitioning our employees away from offices and now have nearly 99% working safely at home. In recognition of these unprecedented times, we are offering our associates up to 80 hours of additional paid leave, providing online workouts, expanding mental health support, and have increased our Anthem Cares Emergency Relief Fund to help associates manage through this crisis. Anthem has long served and met the unique needs of our local communities. Our commitment to improving lives and communities is core to our mission, and we have approached our response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a local and personal lens. Anthem, along with our association of 35 other independent and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies, have committed nearly $3 billion to ensure that more than 100 million Americans, along with care providers and hospitals, have access to the resources and support they need to help improve the health of America. Because of our strong blue brand and deep local roots, we were well positioned to work quickly and seamlessly with local, state, and federal officials, local care providers, key customers, and community partners from day one of the pandemic. And our associates are at the forefront of our comprehensive efforts. Our Anthem culture and values serve as our foundation for giving back in our local communities. Our deeply committed associates have been giving back in various ways, such as online teaching, outreach via phone or mail to those isolated at home, making masks for non-healthcare industry workers, helping to provide personal care supplies, and providing meal delivery to those homebound by the crisis. Across the country, with partners like the American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Club, Feeding America, and AmeriCares, Anthem is on the forefront of delivering relief and support to those most impacted. We know there is great fear and uncertainty among consumers right now, particularly when it comes to safe and affordable access to care. We've removed barriers to care by waiving cost sharing for treatment of COVID-19. including coverage for testing, treatment, and inpatient hospital stays. We've waived prior authorizations for COVID-19 diagnostic tests and related coverage services, as well as ensured continuity of care by waiving early prescription refill limits on 30-day maintenance medications and encouraging the use of 90-day mail-order benefits, if applicable. We've also expanded access to telehealth and nurse lines for both medical and emotional health to meet the growing needs for 24 by 7 information, support, and care. For our most vulnerable consumers in Medicare and Medicaid, we've also reinforced our longstanding focus on social drivers of health to provide support with food, housing, transportation, and more. From outreach to isolated seniors and families, to donating meals and other needed personal care items, we are working to ensure our members' needs are being met and that they realize they are not alone in this fight against the virus. Our associates working with these populations are demonstrating their endless compassion and care during this time as well. We've seen examples of our team members personally delivering boxes of food and much needed supplies safely to our members in dire need. Their commitment is inspiring, but not surprising. This is how Anthem shows up every day to serve others. At the core of the crisis, there's been tremendous focus on the need for testing, and no bigger push for that testing than in the crisis epicenter of New York City. There, we've partnered with the Coalition of Asian American IPA to provide free mobile testing in the five boroughs across the city. We also established the Anthem Medical Associate Volunteer Program for associates with professional medical training and licensure to volunteer in hospitals and other clinical settings in a variety of states, including New York, where the needs are so great. Our clinical associates are demonstrating Anthem's strong values and commitment to service as they stand fearlessly on the front lines to deliver critical care. As Anthem's care provider partners continue their important work in local markets across the country, We have simplified policies designed to help them deliver care to patients more quickly and effectively. Unless otherwise required under specific state and federal mandates, we have suspended prior authorization requirements for patient transfers and the use of medical equipment critical to COVID-19 treatment. Additionally, Anthem is covering respiratory services for acute treatment of COVID-19 along with in network and out of network coverage for COVID-19 laboratory testing. The actions we've taken are ensuring that healthcare providers are focused where they need to be with their patients. Partnerships are foundational to our work in Anthem. Today, we're partnering with XPRIZE and other industry leaders to form a global pandemic alliance to combat COVID-19 and leverage learnings to help prepare for future pandemics. Across the digital landscape, Anthem has been collaborating extensively with various state and federal partners as well as other private sector partners to innovate and help simplify the entire healthcare system experience through the use of technology. Anthem's digital first capabilities are proactively addressing issues with COVID-19 to simplify healthcare for consumers. Our SydneyCare mobile app and the new coronavirus assessment tool are helping people safely and conveniently assess their risk of having COVID-19, locate testing sites as may be needed, and connect directly with a doctor via our virtual care solution. To date, we've seen more than 170,000 downloads of the app and have witnessed a 250% surge in virtual care engagements via text and video. This crisis has made clear that telehealth and virtual care will continue to be a key component of how and where care is delivered going forward. Our employer partners are certainly feeling the impacts of the crisis. Anthem is working closely with our customers to ensure not only the safety and well-being of their employees, but to also provide affordable, flexible payment terms as they work through the financial implications of COVID-19. We recognize this action may add payment risk to our business, But we also know it's the right thing to do. The economic impacts of the crisis may also drive an unprecedented shift in consumers from the employer market into our Medicaid and ACA segments. We are quickly reallocating resources, as may be needed, to meet these potential challenges. In the small group market, a segment especially vulnerable to disruption, we are proactively identifying groups at risk and providing more affordable product offerings or helping displaced members find coverage in the individual marketplace or in Medicaid. Anthem entered 2020 in a position of strength, ready to achieve our financial objectives and serve as a trusted partner in health. Our first quarter performance was in line with our expectations. And while we know COVID-19 is likely to produce unforeseen challenges, both short and long term, we also see tremendous opportunities to reimagine what's possible for our company and healthcare more broadly. While there is much uncertainty, as you saw in our press release, we are maintaining our 2020 EPS guidance. We view this as the most reasonable posture given the multitude of offsetting factors across our diversified business. In a moment, John will discuss the financial scenarios underlying our guidance decision in greater detail. As we look ahead, I am confident that our organization will grow stronger based on the learnings from the current crisis, more effective and better prepared to deliver on what we are entrusted to do. As this crisis evolves, we are unwavering in our efforts to support the medical and social needs of our consumers. improve total health and well-being, and we'll be ready to execute on the momentum we had prior to the onset of the pandemic. I'll now turn it over to John to discuss our financial position. John?