Empire BlueCross BlueShield history

The Associated Hospital Service opened its first office in 1935, expanding, under the Blue Cross emblem, into 13 counties by the end of the year.

The latter's origins were very similar to those of AHS and UMS: responding to the depression-era distress of local voluntary hospitals, the Associated Hospital Service Capital District (AHSCD) was founded in July 1936 in Albany.

In 1939 the first Blue Shield plan was adopted by a physicians' organization in California to pay for doctors' fees through the same type of non-profit insurance coverage as Blue Cross provided for hospitals.

New York's Doctor Frederic Elliott, a radiologist, was instrumental in prodding the state legislature to draft legislation necessary before such an organization could be formed in New York, and in November 1940 the Medical Expense Fund was incorporated in New York City.

The inevitable merger of the two concerns took place in June 1944, when the United Medical Service, Inc., (UMS) was born.

By 1945, a scant ten years after its founding, AHS subscribers numbered 2.2 million, a large percentage of them participants in group plans sponsored by unions and employers.

In the years that followed, coverage was extended to include most of the recent developments in medical technology, and in 1947 an Inter-Plan Bank made it possible for members of one Blue Cross plan to receive treatment at other participating Blue Cross hospitals around the country.

AHSCD did not adopt the Blue Cross name until 1965, one year before it joined the other Blue Cross members in administrating the new Medicare system for the federal government.

In 1966 the federal government created a national health insurance fund called Medicare for citizens 65 years and older.

As a courtesy to its smaller sister company, AHS for many years had handled the marketing and billing functions of UMS. As a result, many consumers had come to think of the two companies as one, and in 1974 their loose alignment was formalized by a merger.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Greater New York (BC/BS) added a second HMO in 1978 and two more in the next few years.

In 1982, the Blue Cross Association and the National Association of Blue Shield Plans merged.

Forming an Empire in 1985

Having processed some 48 million claims in 1989 alone, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield obviously finds itself at the center of today's crisis in health care.

1994: Michael A. Stocker is named chief executive officer of Empire BlueCross BlueShield.

A Bold Announcement in 1996

In an April 6, 2001 interview with Long Island Business News, he stated: "Every day that our conversion is delayed and Empire is prevented from competing in a level playing field with its for-profit competitors, the value of the foundation is also put at risk.

In November 2002, WellChoice completed its IPO, selling 16.7 million common shares and raising $417.3 million in net proceeds.