The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is a federation of 38 separate health insurance organizations and companies in the United States. Combined, they directly or indirectly provide health insurance to over 99 million Americans. The history of Blue Cross dates back to 1929, while the history of Blue Shield dates to 1939. The Blue Cross Association dates back to 1960, while its Blue Shield counterpart was created in 1948. The two organizations merged in 1982, forming the current association.
Read more about Blue Cross Blue Shield Association: History, Current Organization, List of Blue Cross and Blue Shield Companies, Criticism and Controversy
Famous quotes containing the words blue, cross, shield and/or association:
“My Father, it is surely a blue place
And straight. Right. Regular.”
—Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)
“Life is a bridge. Cross over it, but build no house on it.”
—Indian proverb, quoted in Bruce Chatwin, The Songlines, ch. 30, “From the Notebooks” (1987)
“Vice is its own reward. It is virtue which, if it is to be marketed with consumer appeal, must carry Green Shield stamps.”
—Quentin Crisp (b. 1908)
“An association of men who will not quarrel with one another is a thing which has never yet existed, from the greatest confederacy of nations down to a town meeting or a vestry.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)