ELVElevance Health, Inc.

Elevance Health is a health insurer operating under the Blue Cross Blue Shield brand in fourteen states.

The model is every health insurer's: collect premiums, pay for care, earn on the difference. The key metric is the share of premiums spent on claims: a couple of percentage points move profit more than membership growth does.

Rights to the Blue Cross brand in assigned states are a substantial asset: brand recognition and agreements with local doctors and hospitals are hard for a new entrant to replicate. Government programmes for the elderly and low-income supply a meaningful share of revenue and the main regulatory risk at once.

The company is building its own care services and pharmacy arm, following competitors toward vertical integration. Risks: revisions to government programme rates, rising utilisation and regulatory attention to coding practices. Elevance pays a dividend.