Blue Cross Blue Shield is a federation of health care companies that abide by the operating policies of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA). There are 33 independent companies belonging to the BCBSA. The association itself owns and licenses the Blue Cross Blue Shield names and trademarks to the individual companies within the federation. Collectively these companies insure Americans in every state.
The 33 BCBSA companies operate independently of one another and include both nonprofit and for-profit entities. The largest single BCBSA company is Elevance Health, Inc. Elevance operates in multiple states including California, Colorado New York, and Ohio. Because of the independence of BCBSA, health care provider networks are specific to the individual insurers.
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