Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts

Company Overview
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) works tirelessly to make quality healthcare affordable. BCBSMA believes that doctors and hospitals should be paid for quality and quality of care, not quantity. This approach, called Alternative Quality Contract, is designed to slow the rising cost of healthcare while improving patient care.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Ratings »

History
The Blue Cross brand originated in 1929 at Baylor University with a plan offering teachers three weeks of hospital care for $6 per year. As the company grew, it began offering coverage to other employee groups in Dallas and later expanded to national coverage. The Blue Shield brand was developed at the start of last century with lumber and mining employers in the Pacific Northwest paying a monthly fee to a designated group of physicians.Blue Shield and the Blue Cross Association merged in 1982 to become the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts was founded in 1937 as Associated Hospital Service of Massachusetts and became associated with Blue Cross in 1939. In 1941, Blue Shield of Massachusetts was established. In the intervening years, the two companies continued to grow and respond to the needs of their customers. In 1988, the two separate companies merged to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
Current Organization
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts, founded in 1937 has an HMO membership of nearly 1.5-million and a total membership of almost 3-million. The company has a provider network over 20,000 HM doctors and 77 participating hospitals. Currently, BCBSMA employs almost 3600 and maintains it headquarters in Boston. BCBSMA is an independent licensee of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and is the choice of healthcare customers needing high quality and reliable healthcare coverage.