Hello, and welcome to Anthem's Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Please note that today's meeting is being recorded. During the meeting, there will be a question and answer session. It is now my pleasure to turn today's meeting over to Liz Tallett.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I'm Liz Tallett, the Chair of the Board. Welcome to Anthem's 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The meeting is called to order and the polls are now open. Shareholders of record of our proxy holders can vote and ask questions online during the meeting.
After the formal meeting, Gail Boudreaux, President and CEO, will provide a business update followed by a question and answer session. I will preside as Chair of today's meeting. Joining online are our other directors as well as several key Anthem Executives. I will now ask Kathy Keefer, Corporate Secretary, to proceed with the meeting agenda.
Thank you, Liz. The agenda and rules of conduct and procedures for the meeting and question and answer session are posted on the meeting website. To conduct an orderly meeting, we ask that you abide by these rules. As set forth in the rules of the meeting and in our corporate governance documents, the only matters to be acted upon by the shareholders during the meeting are set forth in the agenda and proxy statement. Alisa Zaghare and Catherine Reyes from Computershare have been appointed to act as Inspector of Election for the matters to be voted on during today's meeting.
I will file the OSAP Office of the Inspector of Election with the minutes of this meeting. A complete list of our shareholders of record is available for review on the meeting website. Most shareholders have already voted by proxy and proxy votes have been tallied. If you're a shareholder of record and have already voted, then there's nothing further for you to do. If you're a beneficial shareholder and attending this meeting, your previous vote has been revoked and you need to re vote.
Shareholders can vote by clicking on the cast your vote link on the meeting website. A total of 252,000,000 137,238 shares of Anthem common stock was outstanding on March 16 and entitled to be voted at this annual meeting. Proxies representing approximately 88% of the shares of common stock outstanding and eligible to vote have been received and thus a quorum is present. As described in the proxy, there are 4 items to be voted on during this meeting. The first item is the election of Directors Gail Boudreaux, Cary Clark and Robert Dixon, each held office until the 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and to hold office until their successors are elected and qualified.
The Board recommends a vote for each of the Director nominees. The second item is an advisory vote on the compensation of the company's executive officers. The Board recommends approval of this proposal. The 3rd item is to vote on the ratification of the appointment of E and Y as the company's independent registered public accounting firm. The Board recommends approval of this proposal.
The final item is to vote on a shareholder proposal to allow shareholders owning 10% or more of the company's common stock to call a special meeting of shareholders. This proposal was submitted by John Chevedden. Mr. Chevedden, you have 3 minutes to present the proposal. Operator, please open the line.
Mr. Chevedden, your line is now open.
Hello, this is John Chevedden. Can you hear me okay?
Yes, we can.
Okay. Proposal 4, shareholder right to call a special meeting. Cheryl has asked our Board to take the steps necessary to amend the appropriate governing documents that give the owners of a combined 10% of our outstanding common stock the power to call a special shareholder meeting. Special meetings allow shareholders to vote matters such as electing new directors that can arise between annual meetings. It is especially important to enable 10% of shares in preference of 20% of shares currently to call a special meeting to make up for our classified board regime.
The 2019 Anthem proxy described our claim bulletproof classified board regime with its 3 year terms for directors that make directors largely unaccountable to shareholders. Plus, the Anthem directors are apathetic in regard to moving to a 1 year term for directors. And this meeting is largely inaccessible to shareholders if they want to ask questions at the meeting. And this is another aspect that's another thing that happens when directors have 3 year terms to make it difficult for shareholders to access the annual meeting. There's ton of busy work to do.
If a shareholder for a shareholder to qualify to ask a question at this shareholder meeting. And with 3 year terms for directors, the directors don't probably don't feel they need to do any change. Classified Boards have been found to be 1 of 6 entrenching mechanisms that are negatively related to company performance according to what matters in corporate governance by Lucian Bebchak of the Harvard Law School. A 10% stock ownership threshold is also important because the current 20% stock ownership threshold for shareholders to call a special meeting may be unreachable due to time constraints and the detailed technical requirements that can trip up half the shareholders who want a special shareholder meeting. Thus 20% stock ownership threshold to call a special meeting can be a 40% stock ownership threshold to call a special meeting for all practical purposes.
This proposal topic with a 10% stock ownership threshold won 45% support at our 2018 annual meeting. This 45% vote was all the more impressive because it probably represents a majority vote from the shares that had access to independent proxy voting advice. With 3 year terms for our directors, our directors may feel no need to listen to a majority vote from the shares that have access to independent proxy voting advice. The lack of a shareholder right to elect each director, Anley, and the complete lack of a shareholder right to act by written consent are each such a complete loss of good governance at Anthem that it should motivate shareholders to insist on the most shareholder friendly standard of a right to call a shareholder meeting to help make up for this loss. Please vote yes, shareholder right to call special meetings proposal 4.
Thank you, Mr. Shebben. The Board recommends against this proposal for the reasons set forth in our proxy statement. That concludes the matters to be voted on during this meeting and the polls will be closed shortly. I'll turn it back to you, Liz.
Thank you. The polls are now closed. According to the preliminary report provided by the Inspector of Election, the Director nominees have been elected, the executive compensation is approved, E and Y has been ratified, and the shareholder proposal regarding the right to call a special meeting has not received majority support. We will provide the final voting results in a Form 8 ks filed with the SEC. The formal meeting is adjourned.
Gail will now provide a brief business update followed by a Q and A session that will last no longer than 30 minutes. Kathy, please review the rules for this session.
We may make forward looking statements during this session and actual results may differ materially from these statements. You should refer to our periodic SEC filings for the risk factors related to our business that could cause actual results to differ materially from those forward looking statements. As mentioned earlier, the rules of conduct and procedures will apply during this Q and A session. Now I'll turn it over to Gail.
Good morning. On behalf of the Anthem Board of Directors and our more than 77,000 associates, welcome to the Anthem Annual Shareholders Meeting. I am pleased to have this opportunity to provide an update on our 2019 performance and our business plans for the future against the backdrop of this current health crisis. Let me begin by saying how incredibly grateful I am to the men and women, including many of Anthem's own clinical associates, fighting on the front lines of this health care crisis. I am also incredibly proud of our associates tireless support for our customers, members, care providers and communities each day as we battle this pandemic together.
Since the onset of the crisis, our first priority has been the safety, health and well-being of our Ansome associates. With nearly 99% of our team members all working from home, I'm pleased that we've been able to reduce the spread of the virus while continuing to provide seamless service to those who count on us now more than ever. Guided by our mission and values, our deeply committed associates have not only served our members, but they've given to their local communities in various ways, such as online teaching, outreach via phone or mail to those isolated at home, making masks for non healthcare industry workers, helping to provide personal care supplies and providing meal delivery to those homebound by this crisis. Across the country, with partners like the American Red Cross, Boys and Girls Club, Feeding America, Americares, Anthem is on the forefront of delivering relief and support to those most impacted. Because of our strong Blue brand and deep local roots, we were well positioned to work quickly and seamlessly with local, state and federal officials, local care providers, key customers and community partners from day 1 of the pandemic.
As part of Anthem's coordinated response, we have been focused on increasing access and coverage, adapting tools and policies, leveraging our expertise in data and advanced analytics to provide innovative solutions and delivering outreach and relief to those in need. In the coming and continuing weeks months and in light of the enormous challenges our nation faces from the COVID-nineteen pandemic, we will continue to find innovative ways supporting individuals, families and the country's healthcare system in this uncertain time. When we came together last May, we talked about a new era at Anthem, one defined by growth, innovation and the transformation of healthcare as we know it. We understood what was at stake and what was possible. And in the past 12 months, we delivered.
We achieved strong top and bottom line growth across the enterprise, delivered record organic top line growth of 13% and we had our best year of organic risk based membership growth in over a decade. Our medical membership increased by 1,100,000 members to 41,000,000 members as of year end. During 2019, we successfully launched IngenioRx, our new pharmacy benefits manager. We integrated several new companies into the Anthem family, including Beacon Health Options, giving Anthem national leading capability in the increasingly important area of behavioral health. Over the course of the last year, our innovative industry leading digital solutions continue to make healthcare simpler, more affordable and more effective.
We continued our focus on affordability by partnering with care providers through value based care arrangements and by empowering consumers with access to the information they need to take an active role in their own health and wellness. Anthem also focused on key growth opportunities across our government business with expanded market leading offerings in our Medicare Advantage business as well as expanded partnerships in Medicaid to support our most vulnerable members. And we continue to focus on the strength of our blue partnerships to deliver more effective and affordable care to more people across the country. At Anthem, we believe that being responsible corporate citizen means working to shape our company, our communities and our world for the better. Our associates take this responsibility seriously as they go above and beyond to improve lives and communities.
They've given generously of their time delivering more than 100,000 volunteer hours this past year, a historic high. Throughout 2019, Anthem focused on some of the most pressing issues facing the United States with an emphasis on food insecurity. Through our strong partnerships with non profit organizations across the country, such as Feeding America and The Food Trust, we were able to bring innovative programs to life, making a direct impact within our local communities. We remain committed to removing social barriers for the nation's most vulnerable populations. We were proud to once again be named 1 of America's Most Just Companies by Forbes and Just Capital, the highest ranked company in the healthcare providers category, as well as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the 2nd consecutive year for our work to empower communities, improve the sustainability of our business, operate with integrity and advance an inclusive workplace.
Our mission, improving lives and communities, simplifying health care and expecting more, not only drives our aspirations, but also reflects who we are and it's never been more vital. Grounded by our strong culture and values, we will continue to carry out our mission throughout 2020 with determination and focus. Thank you for being here and thank you for your continued interest and support of Anthem. I am happy to take any questions at this time.
At this time, there are no questions. Thank you for attending our annual meeting and have a nice day.
This concludes the meeting. You may now disconnect.