Blue Cross vs Blue Shield: Difference and Comparison

In most states now, the blue cross and the blue shield will merge under a common association named BCBSA, which stands for the blue cross and the blue shield association.

The BCBSA might be known as the oldest and even largest prayer group in the states, but initially, both of them were used to be two different groups.

Both of them joined each other and together formed BCBSA. The difference between the two was that the blue cross association includes some of its profit as it is profit carrier oriented, while the blue shield works as a non-profit-based organization.

Key Takeaways

1. Blue Cross covers hospital services, while Blue Shield covers medical services such as doctor visits and outpatient care.
2. Blue Cross and Blue Shield are two separate companies that can work together to offer comprehensive health insurance plans.
3. Blue Cross and Blue Shield are not-for-profit organizations that aim to provide affordable healthcare coverage to their members.

Blue Cross vs Blue Shield

Blue Cross is a network of independently licensed health insurance companies that provide coverage to millions of Americans. Blue Shield is a type of health insurance organization that covers medical expenses, including doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescription drugs.

The Blue cross-organization was the first to be formed in the year 1929. The aim of the blue cross-organization was to provide a prepaid service to the hospital and other medical coverage.

The plan was formed by Justin was based on a prototype. When he introduced this prototype, he was the vice president at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas, in the healthcare facilities department.

Ten years after the formation of the Blue cross-organization, in 1939, the blue shield association took place in California. As stated before, the blue cross was for coverage of hospital services, and the blue shield was for physician’s services.

The employers of the mining camp and the lumber camp located in the Pacific Northwest were the source of inspiration for this project that gave birth to this whole organization.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Blue Cross	Blue Shield
What are they	The blue cross association includes some of its profit as it is profit carrier oriented.	The blue shield works as a non-profit-based organization.
Network	The blue cross does not have a Sutter in the network.	The blue shield organization has Sutter in the network.
Coverage in California	Blue cross anthem offers Obama care California health plans. In fact, the blue cross plans were once the #1 seller in the whole of California.	Blue shield organization too offers Obama care health plans.
Provider network	When it comes to health insurance providers, the offers are much comparable. However, people tend to rely more on permanent and personal doctors provided by the blue cross anthem.	Blue shield organization have pretty comparable offers when comes to insurance providence.
Blue card	The blue cross anthem has enabled the blue card, which provides a premium to both individuals and the family.	The blue card has not been introduced by the blue shield yet.

What is Blue Cross?

The Blue cross-organization was the first to be formed in the year 1929. The aim of the blue cross-organization was to provide a prepaid service to the hospital and other medical coverage.

The plan was formed by Justin that was based on a prototype. When he introduced this prototype, he was the vice president at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas, in the healthcare facilities department.

Following the years, more and more plans were introduced under the blue cross plans, and within ten years, the blue cross was covering about 3 million individuals. With the blue cross symbol, the whole country recognized the plan.

The American health association in the entire country soon made the symbol of the blue cross an emblem. This took place in 1939, ten years after the introduction of the blue cross.

What is Blue Shield?

In the year 1939, the blue shield association took place in California. As stated before, the blue cross was for coverage of hospital services, and the blue shield was for physician’s services.

The employers of the mining camp and the lumber camp located in the Pacific Northwest were the source of inspiration for this project that gave birth to this whole organization.

Making medical care easily available and accessible to all was a must as the workers working under such jobs were prone to chronic illness and other serious injuries.

This type of arrangement and the activity gave birth to “medical service bureaus.” This project brought all the physicians together so that they could provide such a service.

Main Differences Between Blue Cross and Blue Shield

1. The main difference between the blue cross and the blue shield is that the blue cross charges some amount as per its own profit while the blue shield does not as a non-profit-based organization.
2. The blue cross does not have a Sutter in-network, but The blue Shield organization has Sutter in the network. 
3. Blue Cross Anthem offers Obama care California health plans. The blue cross plans were once the #1 seller in the whole of California, and the Blue Shield organization too offers Obama care health plans.
4. When it comes to health insurance providers, the offers are much more comparable. However, people tend to rely more on permanent and personal doctors provided by the blue cross anthem, while the Blue Shield organization has pretty comparable offers when it comes to insurance providence.
5. The blue cross anthem has enabled the blue card, which provides a premium to both individuals and the family, but The blue card has not been introduced by the blue shield yet.

References

1. https://www.eh.net/page/167/?s=The
2. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=UKTBDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT2&dq=what+is+blue+cross&ots=xQQEQduM-B&sig=9Wk_CdIru4AvGOYIrRTFgjASIUc