The Canassurance Hospital Service Association, also called Blue Cross Canassurance, is a not-for-profit health insurance provider in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. It is a member of the
Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans, operating in Ontario under the brand
Ontario Blue Cross
Ontario Blue Cross is a registered trademark in Health Insurance. It is owned by Canassurance Hospital Service Association, a member of the Canadian Association of Blue Cross Plans.
History
The Blue Cross name was introduced in ...
and in Quebec as
Québec Blue Cross ().
It also provides
travel assistance through its subsidiary CanAssistance Inc.
History
The Canassurance Hospital Service Association was founded in 1942 under the name Quebec Hospital Service Association by a group of hospital directors and business people. The goal of the association was to provide workers with access to health services at a reasonable cost through an advanced reimbursement plan. Later, with the implementation of a
public health system (1957) and the ''
Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec
The (, RAMQ, often pronounced "ram-q" by French and English speakers alike) is the government health insurance board in the province of Quebec, Canada. The no-longer-official English name is Quebec Health Insurance Board.
Under the system, mos ...
'' (1969), Blue Cross changed its plans to complement the healthcare public system.
By 1970, the Quebec Hospital Service Association had more than 1 million members throughout the province. At that time, private insurance plans were used as an argument by the Quebec administration to counterweight the Canadian government's pressure for a unique national healthcare program. For the Premier of Quebec, Maurice Duplessis, healthcare represented a provincial area of expertise. The following administrations have maintained the position that national standards would not necessarily meet local needs.
The Quebec Hospital Service Association changed its name in 1999 to Canassurance Hospital Service Association (Blue Cross Canassurance) and provides services in Ontario and Quebec.
Community initiatives
Being a not-for-profit health insurance provider, Blue Cross Canassurance reinvests in research and development as well as into the community by supporting a variety of causes linked to health and wellness.
[Blue Cross Canassurance]
"2018 Annual Report"
pages 18-21, 2018. Retrieved on 21 June 2019.
Subsidiaries
* Canassurance Financial Corporation
* Canassurance Insurance Company
* CanAssistance Inc.
[Fiche Entreprise]
"Croix Bleue Canassurance"
'' Les Affaires''. Retrieved on July 18 2019.
References
{{reflist
External links
Ontario Blue Cross websiteQuebec Blue Cross website
Financial services companies established in 1942
1942 establishments in Quebec
Health insurance companies of Canada
Companies based in Montreal