Blue Cross & Blue Shield

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is an American federation of 39 independent, locally operated, and community-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield healthcare coverage companies, covering over 100 million Americans.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield insurance companies are franchises, independent of each other and the general association, offering insurance plans within defined regions under one or both of the association's brands. In every US state Blue Cross & Blue Shield insurers offer some form of health insurance coverage.

They also act as administrators of Medicare in many states or regions of the U.S., and regularly can be found providing group coverage to state government employees, as well as the U.S. Federal government under a nationwide option of the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan (FEHBP) established by the association on their behalf. Hence there exists a strong bond between the Blue Cross Blue Shield system and health insurance policy-making bodies at the highest levels of government in the United States.