The Whole Health Index

WHI methodology has been validated by external data experts and published in the New England Journal of Medicine’s Catalyst.

WHI information can be used to develop more targeted and equitable programs, craft budgets, allocate resources, observe macro health changes, and more. Detailed, member-level data is only accessible to outside entities that are Anthem Blue Cross customers. We hope community-based organizations, legislators, urban planners, and other change-makers use the WHI to benefit the overall health of their communities. 

By monitoring the health of our members over time, we can better identify what's working, what’s not, and more quickly and accurately offer ways to support them both in the short and long term. The WHI also helps us see which physical, behavioral, and social factors are affecting health in communities across the country. Over time, this knowledge can help close care gaps, reduce disparities, and improve health outcomes for our members and their communities.

Anthem Blue Cross DOES NOT use the WHI to determine member eligibility, approve/deny claims, or influence any component of plan designs, including pricing.

This is one aspect, but it is so much more than health equity.  We use it for every single member to see what is most likely to improve health.  And this is the mechanism through which we can improve health equity as well. Our messaging should provide language to this effect.

Yes. Anthem Blue Cross uses industry-leading best practices to store and protect all data. The interactive maps on this website do not display member data at the individual level. No personally identifiable information (PII) or HIPAA-protected information is used in the WHI. For privacy purposes, any areas or filters containing fewer than 30 members are not displayed. We do not share or sell any data externally. 

This map was created using data from employer-sponsored health plan membership in 2023. The clinical data comes directly from claims we processed that same year, such as healthcare services used, as well as acute and chronic disease diagnoses.

The social data comes from social need diagnosis codes, member self-assessments, and publicly available census data on critical social needs (financial strain, healthcare affordability, access to transportation, food insecurity, housing insecurity.).

What does the WHI health assessment mean? Is a low number bad?

A higher number generally means better health. The WHI is a reliable, validated tool for measuring overall health. This dashboard includes only aggregate data; it does not display information about individual people. The WHI assessment looks at physical, behavioral, and social factors affecting health. Some of these factors are within a person’s control; many are not. WHI creates a factual calculation with a neutral data point that can be used to inform strategies for cultivating whole health and advancing health equity.

What is the ‘PD’ and ‘SD’ abbreviation under the WHI for each county? 

“PD” stands for physical drivers of health, and it encompasses the factors that typically go into measuring health, such as presence of illness, whether a person has access to and uses the healthcare system, care for chronic illnesses, and whether a person gets regularly tested for illnesses. The “SD” stands for the social drivers of health that have traditionally been left out of health measurement, such as where someone lives, their employment situation, the ability to get nutritious food, and whether they have transportation. These factors make up the Whole Health Index and work together to gauge overall health.