8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 6, 2003

ANTHEM, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Indiana	001-16751	35-2145715
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)

120 Monument Circle Indianapolis, IN	46204
(Address of principal executive offices)	(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (317) 488-6000

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Item 5.    Other Events and Required FD Disclosure

On August 6, 2003, Anthem, Inc. issued a press release reporting that the Kansas Supreme Court had issued its opinion in connection with Anthem’s proposed affiliation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. A copy of that press release is filed as Exhibit 99 to this report and incorporated herein by reference.

Item 7.    Financial Statements and Exhibits

Financial Statements

None

Exhibits	Description
99	Press Release Dated August 6, 2003

The press release referred to above contains certain forward-looking information about Anthem, Inc. (“Anthem”) that is intended to be covered by the safe harbor for “forward-looking statements” provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Words such as “expect(s)”, “feel(s)”, “believe(s)”, “will”, “may”, “anticipate(s)” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions; statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, products and services; and statements regarding future performance. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of Anthem, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include: those discussed and identified in public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) made by Anthem; trends in health care costs and utilization rates; our ability to secure sufficient premium rate increases; competitor pricing below market trends of increasing costs; increased government regulation of health benefits and managed care; significant acquisitions or divestitures by major competitors; introduction and utilization of new prescription drugs and technology; a downgrade in our financial strength ratings; an increased level of debt; litigation targeted at health benefits companies; our ability to contract with providers consistent with past practice; to achieve expected synergies and operating efficiencies in the Trigon Healthcare, Inc. acquisition and to successfully integrate our operations; and general economic downturns. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof. Anthem does not undertake any obligation to republish revised forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You are also urged to carefully review and consider the various disclosures in Anthem’s various SEC filings, including but not limited to, Anthem’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 and Anthem’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2003 and June 30, 2003.

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: August 6, 2003

ANTHEM, INC.
By:	/s/    MICHAEL L. SMITH
	Name: Michael L. Smith Title:   Executive Vice President and             Chief Financial and Accounting Officer

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EX-99

Exhibit 99

news release	Anthem, Inc. 120 Monument Circle Indianapolis, IN 46204 Tel: 317-488-6000
	Anthem®

For Immediate Release

Media contact: Ed West, 317-488-6100

Investor Relations contact: Tami Durle, 317-488-6390

ANTHEM DISAPPOINTED BY KANSAS SUPREME COURT DECISION,

BUT SEES NO IMPACT ON ITS LONG-RANGE STRATEGY

Indianapolis, Ind.—August 6, 2003—Anthem (NYSE: ATH) said today that, while it is disappointed in a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that apparently negates a proposed affiliation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the decision will not impact Anthem’s long-term growth strategy.

The Kansas Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling and reinstated the Kansas insurance commissioner’s 2002 disapproval of the proposed transaction.

Larry C. Glasscock, chairman, president and CEO of Anthem, said, “Obviously, we are disappointed by the court’s ruling. We continue to believe the Shawnee County District Court in Kansas was correct when it ruled the commissioner’s order disapproving the transaction be vacated. We feel strongly that the transaction would have been good for both companies and for the people of Kansas.

“Nevertheless,” Glasscock said, “the Kansas decision does not in any way affect our commitment to our very successful strategy of growing both organically and through affiliation. We have had remarkable success in bringing about affiliations with other Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, and, in fact, a year ago gained approval for our affiliation with Trigon in Virginia in only three months.”

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Glasscock said Anthem will “remain on our strategic course to grow our market share in existing markets, and continue to seek expansion through affiliations with other health plans that choose to partner with us.” Glasscock said the Kansas decision was expected to have no impact on Anthem’s projected earnings either for the current quarter or for the full year 2003.

Anthem, Inc. is an Indiana-domiciled publicly traded company that, through its subsidiary companies, provides health care benefits to more than 11.7 million people. Anthem is the fifth largest publicly traded health benefits company in the United States and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Colorado, Nevada, Maine and Virginia, excluding the immediate suburbs of Washington, D.C. As of June 30, 2003, Anthem had assets of $12.9 billion and full year 2002 revenue of $13.3 billion. More information about Anthem is available at www.anthem.com.

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