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We’re here 24/7 to listen and help.
Anthem Blue Cross is one of the most common health plans among the people who call us. Villa Healing Center works with Anthem members across Los Angeles and the rest of California, and this page explains how Anthem plans treat a residential mental health stay, including the way payment is handled.
Anthem Blue Cross holds the Blue Cross name in California. It belongs to Elevance Health, a national company that was itself called Anthem until 2022.
It is easy to confuse with Blue Shield of California, but the two are unrelated companies that compete with each other. If your Anthem plan was issued in another state, start with our Blue Cross Blue Shield page.
Anthem uses its own product names, and they are a quick guide to how flexible a plan is.
Many Anthem plans sold directly to individuals and families in California are HMO or EPO designs. Employer plans are more often PPOs.
Los Angeles has many health funds run by unions and guilds, including several in film and television. A large number of them use Anthem Blue Cross for access to doctors and hospitals, so the Anthem logo appears on the card.
These funds write their own benefit rules. Some also send mental health requests to a different company than Anthem. If your coverage comes through a union or guild, tell us the name of the fund. We contact the fund’s own administrator so the answer you get is the right one.
This is the part of Anthem coverage that surprises people most.
When a member receives care from a provider outside Anthem’s contracted list, Anthem sometimes mails the payment to the member instead of the provider. You may open your mail and find a check from Anthem for a large amount, along with a statement describing the claim.
That money is the plan’s payment for your treatment, not a refund. If this happens:
We go over this with every Anthem member before admission so that no one is caught off guard.
Most Anthem plans reset on January 1. Your deductible and your yearly out-of-pocket limit both return to zero on that date.
This has real consequences for the cost of treatment:
When we check your benefits, we tell you how much of each amount you have met so far this year. Our guide to mental health treatment costs explains these terms in more detail.
Anthem reviews residential requests through its behavioral health department, which works alongside Carelon Behavioral Health, a company under the same parent. Our clinicians send the clinical information, and Anthem responds with a decision and a number of approved days.
Anthem also runs Medi-Cal managed care plans and sells Medicare Advantage plans in California. Villa Healing Center does not work with either. We work with Anthem coverage that comes from an employer, a union fund or a plan you purchased yourself.
Once coverage is clear, admission can move quickly. Our articles on the residential admission process and the first few days in treatment describe what happens when you arrive. Treatment at our Woodland Hills home includes daily therapy and, where suitable, EMDR therapy for trauma. The residential treatment page covers the full program.
Medical Director
Medical Director
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Courtney Scott, MD, Medical Director at Villa Healing Center. Board-eligible in Emergency Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Addiction Medicine per Villa’s published clinical leadership profile.
Read more about our team
Call (888) 669-0661 with your Anthem card or your union fund card. We will find out what your plan pays, explain how payment will reach us and answer your questions about admission.
