Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama

BCBSAL was founded in 1936 as the Hospital Service Corporation. In 1952, the company changed its name to Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Alabama. In 1970, the name was changed back to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama L. By that year, it had increased its enrollment to over 1 million people. By 1994, the company increased enrollment to 2 million members statewide and by 2016, it increased to over 3 million nationwide. Even though other companies are available, over 90% of the Alabama market continues to choose BCBSAL Enrollment is again expected to grow in 2017, considering all other companies in Alabama have abandoned the Health Insurance Marketplace (Obamacare) Exchange.

At the end of 2011, BCBSAL assets had totaled $2.4 billion, according to the Alabama Department of Insurance records. It had a revenue of $4.1 billion and a net income of $257 million in 2011, a 58 percent gain from 2010. Yet, still the 2010 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey found BCBSAL offered the second-most affordable employer-sponsored family health plans in the country; and more than 90 cents of every dollar in premiums is returned to members in the form of benefits.

As of 2012, BCBSAL had amassed a surplus of $991 million, which the insurance industry calls "unassigned funds". These savings, which amount to about 3.3 months of typical claims expenses - or one basic emergency room visit per member, are insurance against fluctuations in short-term conditions that could affect the company's ability to pay claims. It makes BCBSAL self-insured since the company is not a beneficiary of the Alabama insurance guaranty funds. It provides financial stability and self-reliance for the company, and therefore the members, with regard to claims.

(The Alabama insurance guaranty fund is an emergency reserve pool maintained by periodic levies on all insurance companies to create a cash fund to pay the obligations of struggling insurers, similar to FDIC for banks.)

As of 2018 Tim Vines is the CEO and President of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, moving up from Vice President and COO.

Lawsuits

In 1998, Sanderson et al vs. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama was resolved by BCBSAL establishing new capital benchmark guidelines for its "unassigned funds" and adjusting benefit rates by US$208 million minus legal fees over 3 years ("prospective rate adjustment program").

BCBSAL was sued seven times in 2012 on anti-trust grounds for conspiring with others to avoid competition in U.S. District Court in Birmingham.

In 2020, Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers in six states have sued CVS Health Corp. over an alleged conspiracy to overburden them with generic medications by filing premium requests at "inflated rates."