The Blue Cross and/or Blue Shield (BCBS) entities are the nation’s oldest and largest family of health benefits companies. Linked together through the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the Blues are a national federation of 37 independent BCBS companies. Together, along with their subsidiaries, Blues organizations cover nearly 46% of all commercially insured persons in the U.S. according to a recently released report from Mark Farrah Associates (MFA).
As of September 2012, Blues entities provided insurance or administered benefits for 96 million people through major medical plans, up 2.3% from the same period one year ago. Blues companies have continued to weather declines during the economic downturn better than Non-Blues health companies. Non-Blues entities saw total health enrollment fall from 141.6 million as of September 2011 to 140.1 million as of September 2012, a -1.1% decline. More than half of the Blues aggregate membership is through self-funded or administrative services only (ASO) products or arrangements.
In many states BCBS organizations have historically been the only carrier to sell major medical insurance directly to individuals. Often, in exchange for special regulatory considerations, they are the carrier of last resort (meaning they must issue insurance to all residents regardless of their health conditions). As more insurance entities add products to serve the Individual health insurance segment, BCBS entities are seeing market share erosion in this line of business. From 3Q11 to 3Q12 BCBS entities gained more than 89,000 (1.4%) non-group major medical members, while Non-Blues affiliated carriers gained nearly 116,000 (3.1%) people.
In the latest Healthcare Business Strategy report, MFA aggregated and analyzed enrollment and other data for all Blues affiliated plans. To read the full text of “Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans Saw Enrollment Gains in 2012,” visit the Analysis Briefs library on MFA’s website www.markfarrah.com .