Premera Blue Cross is a not-for-profit Blue Cross Blue Shield 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, United States. It sells health insurance plans under the Blue Cross license in Washington state except Clark County and under both of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licenses in Alaska. 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 1945, 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'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 in ...

Mike Kreidler Myron Bradford Kreidler (born September 28, 1943) is an American physician and politician serving his sixth term 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 to a for-profit

joint-stock A joint-stock company 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). Shareholders are ...

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

co-pay A copayment or copay (called a gap in Australian English) is a fixed amount for a covered service, paid by a patient to the provider of service before receiving the service. It may be defined in an insurance policy and paid by an insured person ea ...

for 2009-H1N1 vaccine fees for its fully insured members. On February 9, 2012 the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington st ...

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 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was l ...

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