Blue Cross/Blue Shield

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS or BC/BS) is an association of several large health insurance companies that operate in one or several states. It is headquartered in Chicago.

In some states it holds a virtual monopoly, while in other states it is part of an oligopoly.

In Alabama BC/BS holds 80% of the market, leaving patients with little competition and few other options. In other states, such as Michigan, it also holds overwhelming market share.

It is also the largest provider under the Federal Employees Health Benefit program.

The current company was formed in 1982 as a merger of two separate associations:

• Blue Cross (founded in Dallas in 1929 by Justin Ford Kimball, the former vice president of Baylor University's Dallas healthcare facilities; the plan was originally marketed to teachers as Kimball also served for a time as Dallas' school superintendent), and
• Blue Shield (founded in the Pacific Northwest by lumber companies).