Independence Blue Cross

Independence Blue Cross (also known by the initialism IBX) is a health insurer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the biggest health insurer in the Philadelphia area and serves people there and seven million more across the country.

The company has more than 10,000 employees and offers many types of health plans, including managed care and traditional indemnity insurance. Its network includes nearly 180 hospitals and over 60,000 doctors and other health care professionals.

Independence is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Company history

Independence Blue Cross began in 1938 as the Associated Hospital Service of Philadelphia. It offered the first plan where people paid before they needed hospital care. The first person to join was Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson, and Independence Hall was the first group to buy this coverage.

In its first year, the company had over 160,000 members. By 1958, it had 600 workers and worked with 94 hospitals. In 1964, it changed its name to Blue Cross of Greater Philadelphia, and in 1988, it became Independence Blue Cross. In 2011, it started a charity called the Independence Blue Cross Foundation. This foundation helps improve health care in the communities it serves and has supported many health projects and taught children healthy habits.

Subsidiaries and affiliates

Independence Blue Cross works with partners and smaller companies to offer special health services. These include:

• QCC Insurance Company
• Keystone Health Plan East
• Independence Administrators
• AmeriHealth
  • AmeriHealth Administrators
• AmeriHealth Casualty
• AmeriHealth Caritas
  • AmeriHealth Caritas Delaware
  • AmeriHealth Caritas Florida
  • AmeriHealth Caritas Louisiana
  • Blue Cross Complete of Michigan (joint venture with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan)
  • AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire
  • PerformCare (New Jersey)
  • AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
  • AmeriHealth Caritas Ohio
  • AmeriHealth Caritas Pennsylvania
  • Keystone First (Pennsylvania)
  • First Choice by Select Health of South Carolina
  • AmeriHealth Caritas District of Columbia
• Tandigm Health