Contributions focused on maternal/infant health, food security, and behavioral health

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation continued its work to strengthen local communities and improve health outcomes in 2025, investing $2.6 million across Missouri through grantmaking and employee volunteerism. The grants supported members enrolled in individual, employer-sponsored, Medicare, and Medicaid health plans.

“Our work across Missouri is grounded in partnership and supports community-led solutions that improve outcomes for families and individuals facing a wide range of health challenges,” said Stephanie Vojicic, President of Anthem in Missouri. “By focusing our investments on maternal and infant health, food as medicine, behavioral health, and community resiliency, we help drive measurable progress and stronger, healthier communities.”

In 2025, Missouri investments by Anthem’s Foundation included:

• Five Maternal-Infant Health grants
• Eight Food as Medicine grants
• Nine Behavioral Health grants
• Five Community Resiliency and Disaster Relief grants
• Employee volunteerism and community engagement

Key Areas of Impact

Maternal-Infant Health

The Foundation invested $930,000 in Missouri organizations focused on improving maternal and infant health outcomes – throughout pregnancy and 12 months postpartum. Examples include:

• Nurture KC: Expanding the Healthy Start Initiative to increase service capacity and improve access to maternal and infant care
• Healthy Birth Day, Inc.: Advancing the Count the Kicks program to help prevent stillbirth through fetal movement awareness
• March of Dimes: Strengthening NICU Family Support programs and integrating mental health screenings into neonatal care
• Midtown Neighborhood Opportunities Corporation: Helping families access early childhood development resources and intervention services
• Centering Healthcare Institute: Enhancing collaborative maternal care models through “Centering Pregnancy” programs

These investments contribute to improved outcomes, including lower preterm birth rates among program participants compared to national averages.

Food as Medicine

The Foundation invested $769,000 in programs that expand access to nutritious food and improve health outcomes. Examples include:

• Mid-America Regional Council Community Services Corporation: Expanding the Double Up Food Bucks program
• Feeding America (St. Louis Area Foodbank): Increasing screening and support
• National WIC Association: Supporting access to healthy foods through farmers markets
• Breakthrough T1D: Delivering culturally responsive nutrition programs
• National Association of Community Health Centers: Advancing scalable Food as Medicine models

These efforts are critical in Missouri, where 1 in 6 individuals (including 1 in 6 children) face hunger.

Behavioral Health

The Foundation invested $274,000 to expand access to behavioral health services focused on substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery. Examples include:

• Shatterproof: Addressing stigma and discrimination as barriers to receiving addiction treatment
• Boys and Girls Clubs of America: To strengthen youth mental health via trauma informed (TI) practices

Community Resiliency and Disaster Relief

The Foundation provided $25,000 to support disaster preparedness, response, and recovery partnerships that strengthen community resiliency. Examples include a grant to Team Rubicon – to support its disaster response operations including debris removal, route clearance and expedient home repair.

Funding Opportunity

Over the next five years, from 2026 through 2030, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation plans to continue investing in Missouri by deepening support for community-led solutions that improve maternal and infant health, expand access to food as medicine, strengthen behavioral health services and build resilient communities. The Foundation will open its Maternal-Infant Health RFP this June.

Anthem also mobilized its employees across Missouri in 2025, contributing 11,600 volunteer hours and nearly $600,000 in community value through donations, matching gifts, and volunteer programs. These efforts support on-the-ground impact that improves access to care and prevention services statewide.

About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation

The Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a philanthropic arm of the Elevance Health Foundation. The Foundation works to address health equity by focusing on improving the health of the socially vulnerable through strategic partnerships and programs in our communities with an emphasis on maternal child health; mental health; and food as medicine.

Additionally, the Foundation also responds to disasters when our communities need us the most. The Foundation coordinates the company’s year-round Dollars for Dollars program which provides a 100 percent match of employees’ donations, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. ^®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross names and symbol are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

To learn more about the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation and the Elevance Health Foundation, please visit https://www.elevancehealth.foundation/ and its blog at www.medium.com/elevancehealthfoundation.

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“By focusing our investments on maternal and infant health, food as medicine, behavioral health, and community resiliency, we help drive measurable progress and stronger, healthier communities.”