Blue Cross and Blue Shields Association Essay

gamy bilk and docile carapace connective is one of the m all major health insurance companies in the unify States. The caller-up was graduation exerciseed by a man named Dr. Justin Ford Kimball in 1929. Kimball started the class beca engagement he noticed that teachers had a huge burden of medical bills in his area. He started a mean for teachers to be able to rich person a three week hospital stay covered for as trivial as fifty cents a month. The first innovation was a gather when over 1250 teachers enrolled at once ( savoury Cross and bad Shield acquaintance History). The plan started to spread throughout the United States. In 1934, E.A. van Steenwyk intentional the sour Cross name and symbol. By 1938 there were 38 patrician Cross plans in the United States with a total enrollment if 1.4 billion ( distressing Cross and Blue Shield Association History). Blue Shield was create in 1939 in California and was designed to cover the woos of atomic number 101s servi ces. In 1948, Blue Cross and Blue Shield corporate and because what we know it as right away as Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Since 1998, Blue Cross Blue Shield has over 3,012,571 customers see (wellness Insurance). Since the start of the familiarity in 1929, Blue Cross and blue shield has expand all crosswise the United States and whirls many insurance products.Blue Cross and Blue Shield offers a variety of different plans to meet a families or an individuals needs. Blue Cross and Blue Shields has over thirty ogdoad independently ran and locally operated companies from Hawaii all the way to New York. The companies offer a variety of plans for medical, alveolar, and vision. in that location are many different options to deal from and plenty of resources available online to choose which is best. One plan the companies offer is the Consumer enjoin Health (CDH) innovation. This is a high deductible plan that employers offer to their employees that have a bun in the oven land health costs for their employees because the employers cover part of the costs (Consumer say Health Plans). Some key highlights of the plan are lower periodical premiums, higher annual deductibles, preventive care at no cost or with modest co stipend, and combine deductible for medical and pharmacyexpenses (Consumer order Health Plans). There are two plans that can be combined with the CDH which are Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRA). Both of these are where the employer helps the employee pay out of pocket expenses for medical care. There are a few other plans that the company offers such as Healthy Reward 2.0 which encourages employees to get going a healthier lifestyle and earn rewards by doing so. Another plan is the Blue Choice Advantage Plan that allows the insured to go to any doctor they choose without a referral (Blue Choice Advantage). These are only a few of the health care plans offered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield and there are many more to choose from.Blue Cross Blue Shield also offers a variety of alveolar plans for the family or for an individual. The first program is called the CareFirst Blue Choice Discount alveolar Program. This program offers twenty to forty percent off of all dental needs using the list of providers who accept this program. Another program that Blue Cross Blue Shield offers is the Dental Health Maintenance physical composition (DHMO) which offers preventative and corrective dental care at a inevitable price. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) Preferred (PPO) Dental offers the insured to pick any provider they would like, nevertheless have the option to use an in profit provider and have cheaper costs. There are a few more plans offered for dental moreover requires research to find the best option for a family or an individual. The company also offers a few different options for a vision plan that fall a want the same lines as the dental. The plans give you the op tion to use in network providers that are offered at a cheaper cost or you can choose any provider you desire just a little more out of pocket costs. There are a few special programs that the insurance company offers such as Premium-Only Plan (POP), Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA), and BlueWorldwide Expat (BWE). The POP allows employees to designate their monthly health, dental, and vision premiums as pre-tax, easy to set up and requires very little administration, reduces FICA withholdings for the employer and employee, and converts after-tax contributions to pre-tax contributions. Contributions to FSAs means lower taxes for members and employer it lowers FICA taxes, controls benefit costs, manages compensation, and employees pay for expenses with pretax dollars.The BWE offers Comprehensive indemnity-based productsfor employees and dependents, centralized administration and claims payment, 24-hour medical attention and customer service, medical evacuation and repatriation, cashle ss entrance money to inpatient services, multilingual assistance, access to more than 25,000 internationally credentialed providers, and access to Blue Card indemnity network of providers while traveling to the U.S., flexible benefits, and currency conversion (Medical). In todays economy it is essential to find low-priced health insurance. There are hundreds of websites online that can give you free quotes and help find affordable health insurance. It is best to research as much as doable to find out what all is offered and which plan is best for the family or an individual. Blue Cross Blue Shield has been around since 1929 and is widely used across the United States and has thousands of providers so it is easy to find a provider close. The company is in thirty eight states and has over three million insured and growing every day. With our healthcare system changing everyday it is polished to see some names that have been around for a long time. Hopefully, companies like Blue Cr oss Blue Shield will be around for many more years to come.Bibliography1. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association History. (n.d.). History of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association FundingUniverse. Retrieved from http//www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/blue-cross-and-blue-shield-association-history/ 2. Blue Cross Blue Shield. (2012, May 14). Health Insurance. Retrieved July 15, 2012, from http//www.ehealthinsurance.com/ehi/healthinsurance/bcbs?allid=Goo28708 3. Consumer-Directed Health Plans. (n.d.). CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Retrieved from https//employer.carefirst.com/wps/portal/Employers/CDHPlans?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wcmwps/wcm/connect/Content-Employers/CareFirst/GAPortal/ProductOverviews/Tab/cdhWhatisaCDHPlan 4. Blue Choice Advantage. (n.d.). CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. Retrieved from https//employer.carefirst.com/wps/portal/ut/p/c5/jc7BDoIwEATQLzKdAq3lCKbQDQYkCgIXw8GYJgIejN8vvRkj6u7x7WSHdWzesX_YS3-309hfWcM6eQozWXAKfRR1CFAmqIjy2kMlZm9fPDWJAAXpTlFZcij5T3qTRiZYbwH oQwwvF3qfxIqD_B_po2u7fKHlm39o5_zbf-dYmAgsN9NwZrehamBp9QSM0lTI/dl3/d3/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnZ3LzZfOUs2TzFJOTMwRzVIQTBJUzZVMkI0UTIwODY/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wcmwps/wcm/connect/content-employers/carefirst/gaportal/