Blue Cross Health Insurance Companies Must Now Compete…Second BlueBid Explained

Blue Cross Health Insurance Companies Must Now Compete…Second BlueBid Explained

Blue Cross is not one company. It’s actually 36 separate companies that are connected to each other via the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.

Each Blue Cross company has a geographic monopoly for the employers in their geographic area. Meaning historically each Blue Cross plan would never compete with another for an employer’s business.

Until now.

Employer clients of Blue Cross plans did not like Blue Cross’s anti-competitive behavior and filed a class action lawsuit stating Blue Cross was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Employers and Blue Cross reached a settlement whereby Blue Cross must pay $2.67 Billion in damages and must now compete across state lines for large, self-funded employer clients in a process called ‘Second BlueBid.’

In Second BlueBid, a self-funded employer with greater than 5,000 employees can request a second competitive bid from a second Blue Cross plan.

Historically, some employers have had difficulty with poor service and data restriction by their Blue Cross carrier, but if they wanted to continue to use the Blue Cross Network, they had no other choice in plan administrators.

Today with Second BlueBid, large employers have a second choice in Blue Cross plans… a real win for employers and employees in America.

Sources:
https://www.bcbssettlement.com/secondbluebid

https://www.bcbssettlement.com/

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2799531

AHealthcareZ Video on 36 Different Blue Cross Companies: https://youtu.be/Um8q7rpe8qU

AHealthcareZ Video on Blue Cross Association Settlement: https://youtu.be/68mirD_aNTQ

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