this article is about american medical insurance companies . for other uses see blue cross disambiguation . blue cross blue shield association type independent industry health insurance founded 1929 headquarters michigan plaza chicago illinois key people scott serota president and ceo 1 products ppos hmos website see tfm www.bcbs.com the blue cross blue shield association bcbsa is a federation of 36 separate united states health insurance organizations and companies providing health insurance to more than 106 2 million americans . 3 blue cross was founded in 1929 and became the blue cross association in 1960 while blue shield emerged in 1939 and the blue shield association was created in 1948 . the two organizations merged in 1982 . contents 1 history 2 current organization 3 member companies 4 details on specific organizations 4.1 idaho 4.2 pennsylvania 5 see also 6 references 7 further reading 8 external links history edit further information history of insurance health care in the united states government health programs federal employees health benefits program indian health service veterans health administration military health system tricare medicare medicaid state health insurance assistance program ship state children s health insurance program chip program of all inclusive care for the elderly pace prescription assistance spap private health coverage health insurance in the united states consumer driven health care flexible spending account fsa health reimbursement account health savings account hsa high deductible health plan hdhp medical savings account msa private fee for service pffs managed care ccp health maintenance organization hmo preferred provider organization ppo exclusive provider organization epo medical underwriting health care reform law emergency medical treatment and active labor act 1986 health insurance portability and accountability act 1996 medicare prescription drug improvement and modernization act 2003 patient safety and quality improvement act 2005 health information technology for economic and clinical health act 2009 patient protection and affordable care act 2010 state level reform massachusetts health care reform oregon health plan vermont health care reform sustinet connecticut dirigo health maine municipal health coverage fair share health care act maryland healthy howard howard co. maryland healthy san francisco my health la healthy way la this box view talk edit blue cross and blue shield developed separately with blue cross plans providing coverage for hospital services and blue shield covering physicians services . 4 blue cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the united states . its predecessor was developed by justin ford kimball in 1929 while he was vice president of baylor university s health care facilities in dallas texas . 5 the first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for 6 a year was later extended to other employee groups in dallas and then nationally . 5 the american hospital association aha adopted the blue cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards . in 1960 the aha commission was superseded by the blue cross association . blue cross severed its ties with the aha in 1972 . blue shield was developed by employers in lumber and mining camps of the pacific northwest to provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians . 6 not in citation given in 1939 the first official blue shield plan was founded in california . in 1948 the symbol was informally adopted by nine plans called the associated medical care plan and was later renamed the national association of blue shield plans . in the 1960s the us government chose to partner with blue cross and blue shield companies to administer medicare . 6 in 1982 blue shield merged with the blue cross association to form the blue cross and blue shield association bcbs . 7 prior to 1986 organizations administering bcbs were tax exempt under 501 c 4 as social welfare plans . however the tax reform act of 1986 revoked the exemption because the plans sold commercial type insurance . they became 501 m organizations subject to federal taxation but entitled to special tax benefits 8 under irc 833 . 9 in 1994 bcbs changed to allow its licensees to be for profit corporations . 4 during 2010 health care service corporation the parent company of bcbs in texas oklahoma new mexico montana and illinois nearly doubled its income to 1.09 billion in 2010 and began four years of billion dollar profits . 10 in the final spending bill for fy 2015 after much lobbying since 2010 nonprofit blue cross and blue shield plans continue to have special tax breaks that were understood to be threatened by the affordable care act of 2010 . 11 current organization edit blue cross and blue shield insurance companies are licensees independent of the association and traditionally of each other offering insurance plans within defined regions under one or both of the association s brands . blue cross blue shield insurers offer some form of health insurance coverage in every u.s. state . they also act as administrators of medicare in many states or regions of the us 12 and provide coverage to state government employees as well as to the federal government employees under a nationwide option of the federal employees health benefit plan . 13 the association has its headquarters in the michigan plaza complex in the chicago loop area of chicago illinois . 14 member companies edit publicly traded companies anthem inc anthem bluecross and blueshield 15 colorado connecticut georgia indiana kentucky maine missouri excluding 30 counties in the kansas city area nevada new hampshire ohio virginia excluding the northern virginia suburbs of washington d.c. wisconsin anthem blue cross california 15 blue cross blue shield of georgia 15 empire bluecross blueshield new york 15 triple s management corporation bluecross & blueshield puerto rico multi state private companies carefirst district of columbia maryland parts of virginia health care service corporation bluecross blueshield of illinois blueshield of new mexico blue cross blue shield of montana bluecross blueshield of oklahoma bluecross blueshield of texas highmark highmark bluecross blueshield western pennsylvania highmark blueshield northeastern eastern & central pennsylvania highmark bluecross blue shield delaware delaware highmark bluecross blueshield west virginia formerly mountain state blue cross blue shield west virginia premera premera bluecross blueshield of alaska premera bluecross washington cambia health solutions regence blueshield of idaho regence blue cross blue shield of oregon regence bluecross blueshield of utah regence blueshield washington wellmark blue cross blue shield iowa south dakota single state or regional companies blue cross and blue shield of alabama bluecross blueshield of arizona arkansas bluecross blueshield blue shield of california bluecross blueshield of florida branded as florida blue 16 hawaii medical service association bluecross of idaho bluecross blueshield of kansas bluecross blueshield of louisiana blue cross blue shield of massachusetts blue cross blue shield of michigan blue cross blue shield of minnesota blue cross blue shield of mississippi blue cross and blue shield of kansas city blue cross blue shield of nebraska horizon blue cross blue shield of new jersey excellus bluecross blueshield central new york rochester and utica watertown blueshield of northeastern new york a division of healthnow new york inc. bluecross blueshield of western new york a division of healthnow new york inc. blue cross blue shield of north carolina blue cross blue shield of north dakota blue cross of northeastern pennsylvania capital blue cross central pennsylvania independence blue cross philadelphia southeastern pennsylvania blue cross blue shield of rhode island blue cross blue shield of south carolina bluecross blueshield of tennessee bluecross blueshield of the u.s. virgin islands bluecross blueshield of vermont bluecross blueshield of wyoming companies outside of the united states bluecross blueshield of costa rica bluecross blueshield of panama bluecross blueshield of uruguay details on specific organizations edit this section needs expansion . you can help by adding to it . august 2009 idaho edit bluecross of idaho and regence 17 blueshield of idaho are separate companies and compete throughout the state . pennsylvania edit though historically blue cross was used for hospital coverage while blue shield was used for medical coverage today that split only exists for traditional health insurance plans in eastern pennsylvania where independence blue cross philadelphia and blue cross of northeastern pennsylvania each have joint marketing agreements with highmark blue shield pittsburgh for their separate hospital and medical plans . however independence blue cross like most of its sister blue cross blue shield companies cover most of their customers under managed care plans such as hmos and ppos which provide hospital and medical care in one policy . see also edit chicago portal companies portal blue cross canada for profit corporation references edit bcbsa n.d. . scott p. serota . president and chief executive office . bcbs . blue cross blue shield association supporting the 36 independent locally operated blue cross and blue shield companies bcbs.com . bcbs.com . blue cross blue shield association supporting the 36 independent locally operated blue cross and blue shield companies bcbs.com . bcbs.com . a b coordinated issue paper blue cross blue shield health insurance ; life insurance conversion of nonprofit corporations . 4 june 2008 archived may 6 2009 at the wayback machine . a b justin ford kimball from the handbook of texas online . retrieved august 31 2009 . dead link a b marc lichtenstein n.d. . health insurance from invention to innovation a history of the blue cross and blue shield companies . blue cross and blue shield association . history of blue cross and blue shield association 1980s . blue cross and blue shield association . archived from the original on september 26 2009 . nonprofit health inc. overview of issues in the protection of nonprofit assets blue cross 501 m . consumers union . 1 january 2008 . retrieved 18 december 2014 . as of january 1 1987 the federal government removed the full tax exempt status of bcbs plans and instead created a special tax class for bcbs organizations internal revenue code i.r.c. 5833 . that i.r.c. category subjected bcbs plans to federal taxation but recognized the unique role bcbs plans play unlike commercial for profit insurers and entitled it to special tax benefits . 26 usc 833 treatment of blue cross and blue shield organizations etc. title 26 internal revenue code u.s. code lii legal information institute law.cornell.edu . retrieved on 2013 09 05 . blue cross parent boosts profit in second quarter . crain s chicago business . crain communication inc. 3 september 2013 . retrieved 18 december 2014 . robert pear 14 december 2014 . new york times in final spending bill salty food and belching cows are winners check url value help . ny times . retrieved 18 december 2014 . health insurance facts smarter consumers of healthcare . health harbor . retrieved on 2013 09 05 . insurance programs . united states office of personal management . contact us . blue cross and blue shield association . retrieved december 23 2009 . a b c d contact us . anthem.com . retrieved 6 september 2016 . florida blue new name of bluecross and blueshield of florida press release . prnewswire . april 2 2012 . retrieved april 27 2012 . the regence group further reading edit goodman john c. 2008 . health insurance . in david r. henderson ed . . concise encyclopedia of economics 2nd ed . . indianapolis library of economics and liberty . isbn 978 086597665 8 . oclc 237794267 . external links edit wikimedia commons has media related to blue cross blue shield association . official website official blog blue cross blue shield of idaho blue cross blue shield of kansas blue cross blue shield of texas voices of oklahoma interview with blue cross blue shield . first person interview conducted on february 26 2013 with ron king and ralph rhodes . original audio and transcript archived with voices of oklahoma oral history project . retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title blue cross blue shield association & oldid 743336256 categories 1929 establishments in the united statescompanies