Company Profile
Blue Cross of Idaho
Company Overview
Today, Blue Cross of Idaho and Regence BlueShield of Idaho remain separate companies, operating independently of each other. Blue Cross of Idaho remains Idaho's oldest health insurer, with approximately one quarter of the state's population enrolled in its traditional, PPO, and managed care programs. At its headquarters in Meridian, Blue Cross of Idaho employs more than 850 workers, and additional employees work from our district offices in Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls.
Company History
Blue Cross of Idaho can trace its roots to a luncheon meeting in 1945 when representatives from local hospitals, a Boise physician, and two business executives met to incorporate Idaho Hospital Service (IHS). IHS began by offering prepaid hospital services to employee groups, including several Northern Idaho mining operations. By the end of its first year, statewide enrollment exceeded 10,000, and by the end of the second year, 615 groups had enrolled more than 35,000 subscribers.
The original premiums were $1 per month for an individual and $2.50 per month for families. Contracts with participating hospitals set reimbursement levels at $10 for the first day's coverage and $5 per day thereafter, with a 31-day limit per year. With group enrollment growing, IHS opened plan membership to the general public in the fall of 1948.
Until 1949, IHS provided benefits for hospital care only. That year, a subsidiary of the national Blue Cross Association began covering certain physician services throughout Idaho. By the middle of the decade, IHS had expanded enough to take over the underwriting of physician benefits. In the 1960s, the plan’s benefits expanded to cover outpatient X-ray and laboratory tests, along with additional accident benefits and major medical programs.
At the same time, a physicians’ medical service bureau operated in affiliation with Blue Shield in Northern Idaho. There were no physician plans available in Southern Idaho until 1962, when the Idaho Medical Association and local physicians formed South Idaho Medical Service Bureau (SIMS) to meet the demand for a similar service. Also affiliated with Blue Shield, SIMS offered access to medical services by physician members throughout region. IHS and SIMS operated jointly throughout the 1960s, enabling SIMS members to combine their prepaid physician services with the prepaid hospital services of the Blue Cross plan.
IHS officially changed its name to Blue Cross of Idaho in 1973, and following a merger with SIMS in 1978, became Blue Cross of Idaho Health Service, Inc., a statewide Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan. At the same time, the Northern Idaho Medical Service Bureau (now known as Regence BlueShield of Idaho) continued to operate as a Blue Shield plan and was granted permission by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to expand statewide.
Today, Blue Cross of Idaho and Regence BlueShield of Idaho remain separate companies, operating independently. Blue Cross of Idaho remains Idaho's oldest health insurer, with nearly one-half of the state's population enrolled in its traditional, PPO and managed care programs. At its headquarters in Meridian, Blue Cross of Idaho employs nearly 1,000 workers, and additional employees work from our district offices in Coeur d'Alene, Twin Falls, Pocatello and Idaho Falls.
The company remains dedicated to helping members improve their lives by ensuring they have access to quality healthcare while giving them financial peace of mind.
Benefits
Annual Incentive