Premera Blue Cross is a not-for-profit

Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, also known as BCBS, BCBSA, or The Blues, is a United States–based federation with 33 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance to more than 115 million people in the U ...

licensed

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

company based in

Mountlake Terrace, Washington Mountlake Terrace is a suburban city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It lies on the southern border of the county, adjacent to Shoreline, Washington, Shoreline and Lynnwood, Washington, Lynnwood, and is north of Seattle. The c ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It sells health insurance plans under the Blue Cross license in Washington state except

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

and under both of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licenses in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. The company provides health insurance and related services to approximately 2 million people. Premera Blue Cross has operated in Washington since 1945, and in Alaska since 1957. Premera Blue Cross is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

History

Premera was founded as Washington Hospital Service in 1933, and began operating in Alaska in 1957. In 1969, the company's name was changed to Blue Cross of Washington and Alaska. In June 1998, Blue Cross of Washington and Alaska merged with

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

's Medical Service Corporation under the name Premera Blue Cross. In 2002, Premera's executives first informed Washington

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

Mike Kreidler Myron Bradford Kreidler (born September 28, 1943) is an American physician and politician who previously served as the eighth Washington Insurance Commissioner. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served one term in the Congress, re ...

of their intent to convert from a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

to a

for-profit Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessari ...

joint-stock A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholder ...

company. After five years, the request was officially ended on March 5, 2007. In October 2009, Premera waived

deductible In an insurance policy, the deductible (in British English, the excess) is the amount paid Out-of-pocket expenses, out of pocket by the policy holder before an insurance provider will pay any expenses. In general usage, the term ''deductible'' m ...

or co-pay for 2009-H1N1

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifi ...

fees for its fully insured members. On February 9, 2012 the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

published an article alleging non-profit insurance outfits, including Regence, Premera and Group Health, were stockpiling billions of dollars in reserves while increasing their rates at the same time. In October 2014, Jeff Roe replaced Gubby Barlow as CEO of Premera. On May 5, 2015, Premera experienced a security breach, possibly leaking the private information of 11 million of its members. On July 11, 2019, Premera reached a settlement to pay $10.4 million over its failure to secure sensitive consumer data following the breach in 2015. In 2019, the company's board, according to the NAIC Quarterly Statement, included Connie Renee Collingsworth, a member of the leadership team of the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

and John E. Jenrette, an executive at Cedars-Sinai. In response to the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, Premera offered advance payments to health care providers amounting up to $100 million.

References

External links

Company website
{{Authority control Companies based in Snohomish County, Washington Financial services companies established in 1945 Medical and health organizations based in Washington (state) Health insurance in the United States Members of Blue Cross Blue Shield Association