Idaho Care Line history

With group enrollment growing, IHS opened plan membership to the general public in the fall of 1948.

Until 1949, IHS provided benefits for hospital care only.

There were no physician plans available in Southern Idaho until 1962, when the Idaho Medical Association and local physicians formed South Idaho Medical Service Bureau (SIMS) to meet the demand for a similar service.

Blues mergers and affiliations have driven the number of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies from a high of 128 in 1975 to 36 today.

While Blue Cross of Idaho has paid federal taxes since 1987, it was exempt from Idaho's premium tax on insurers (paying instead a per-contract franchise fee). As a mutual insurer, Blue Cross of Idaho pays federal taxes as well as applicable state taxes on all income from premiums.

In 1990 IMA trustees founded the IMA Medical Education Scholarship Trust to assist Idaho medical students.

In 1994, Blue Cross of Idaho's board of directors realized that the corporate structure needed to change in order to remain competitive in the changing market.

Years earlier, 2-1-1 was established in 1997 through funding from Junior League of Boise.

In Idaho, healthcare reform legislation guarantees access to health insurance for all Idahoans, including those with high-cost medical conditions who were previously unable to get insurance. For example, in 1998, the number of claims exceeding $100,000 increased by more than 50 percent, resulting in $11.5 million dollars in provider reimbursements for less than .04 of 1 percent of our enrollee population.

How it started: United Way of Treasure Valley and the state Department of Health and Welfare teamed up in September 2002 to launch 2-1-1 services to help Idahoans throughout the state.

In January 2003, the True Blue service area expanded to include Boise, Gem, Owyhee, Payette and Washington counties.