For the UK animal charity, see The Blue Cross. Jump to: navigation, search Allegorical personification of Charity as a mother with three infants by Anthony van Dyck Charity is a term in Christian theology (one of the three theological virtues), meaning loving kindness towards others; it is held to be the ultimate perfection of the human spirit, because it... For the health care plan in the United States, see Blue Cross. ...

Blue Cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States. It was developed in 1929, by Justin Ford Kimball, at Baylor University in Dallas, Texas. The first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year. The plan was extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and then nationally. The American Hospital Association (AHA) adopted the Blue Cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. In 1960 the AHA commission was superseded by the Blue Cross Association. Affiliation with the AHA was severed in 1972. In 1982, Blue Cross merged with the National Association of Blue Shield Plans to create the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Health insurance is a type of insurance whereby the insurer pays the medical costs of the insured if the insured becomes sick due to covered causes, or due to accidents. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Jump to: navigation, search Downtown Dallas City nickname: Big D Location Location in the state of Texas Government Counties Dallas County Collin County Denton County Kaufman County Rockwall County Mayor Laura Miller Physical characteristics Area      Land      Water 385. ... Founded in 1898, The American Hospital Association (AHA), located in Chicago, Illinois, is the national organization that represents and serves all types of hospitals, health care networks, and their patients and communities. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jump to: navigation, search 1972 was a leap year that started on a Saturday. ... 1982 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Blue Shield concept was developed at the beginning of the twentieth century by employers in lumber and mining camps of the Pacific Northwest to provide medical care by paying monthly fees to medical service bureaus composed of groups of physicians. ...

Theoretically, Blue Cross-Blue Shield operations are considered to occur via a series of administratively independent franchises offering insurance plans within defined regions. Blue Cross-Blue Shield offers some form of health insurance coverage in every US state and Canadian province. They also act as administrators of Social Security in many states or regions of the US, and regularly can be found providing group coverage to state government employees, as well as the US Federal government. Thus a strong bond exists between the Blue Cross-Blue Shield entities and health-insurance policy-making bodies at the highest levels of government in the United States. The evolution of managed care in the United States is intimately linked to the designs of Blue Cross-Blue Shield. For specific national programs, see Social Security (United States), National insurance (UK), Social Security (Sweden) Social security mainly refers to a field of social welfare concerned with social protection, or protection against socially recognized needs, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment, families with children and others. ... Managed care is a concept in U.S. health care. ...

Some of their state plans have been merged by Blue Cross-Blue Shield to achieve economies of scale. The largest such merged plan is the 13-state WellPoint. Others include CareFirst in the Mid-Atlantic and The Regence Group in the Pacific Northwest, and Anthem in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Colorado, Nevada, Maine, and Virginia. ... WellPoint, Inc. ... Jump to: navigation, search Anthem is an insurance organization which began in the 1980s as a spin-off of the group insurance operations of American General Insurance. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Hoosier State Other U.S. States Capital Indianapolis Largest city Indianapolis Governor Mitch Daniels (R) Senators Richard Lugar (R) Evan Bayh (D) Official languages English Area 94,321 km² (38th)  - Land 92,897 km²  - Water 1,424 km² (1. ... State nickname: Bluegrass State Other U.S. States Capital Frankfort Largest city Louisville Governor Ernie Fletcher (R) Official languages English Area 104,749 km² (37th)  - Land 102,989 km²  - Water 1,760 km² (1. ... State nickname: The Buckeye State Other U.S. States Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Governor Bob Taft (R) Senators Mike DeWine (R) George Voinovich (R) Official languages None Area 116,096 km² (34th)  - Land 106,154 km²  - Water 10,044 km² (8. ... State nickname: The Constitution State Other U.S. States Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Governor M. Jodi Rell (R) Senators Chris Dodd (D) Joe Lieberman (D) Official languages English Area 14,371 km² (48th)  - Land 12,559 km²  - Water 1,809 km² (12. ... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Granite State Other U.S. States Capital Concord Largest city Manchester Governor John Lynch (D) Senators Judd Gregg (R) John Sununu (R) Official languages English Area 24,239 km² (46th)  - Land 23,249 km²  - Water 814 km² (3. ... State nickname: The Centennial State Other U.S. States Capital Denver Largest city Denver Governor Bill Owens (R) Senators Wayne Allard (R) Ken Salazar (D) Official languages English Area 269,837 km² (8th)  - Land 268,879 km²  - Water 962 km² (0. ... State nickname: Silver State, Battle Born State (official) Other U.S. States Capital Carson City Largest city Las Vegas Governor Kenny Guinn (R) Senators Harry Reid (D) John Ensign (R) Official languages None Area 286,367 km² (7th)  - Land 284,396 km²  - Water 1,971 km² (0. ... State nickname: The Pine Tree State Other U.S. States Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Governor John Baldacci (D) Senators Olympia Snowe (R) Susan Collins (R) Official languages None Area 86,542 km² (39th)  - Land 80,005 km²  - Water 11,724 km² (13. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner (D) Senators John Warner (R) George Allen (R) Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ...

External links

• Blue Cross Blue Shield national web site