BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Company

BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBST) is the oldest and largest not-for-profit managed care provider in the state of Tennessee. Serving around 3 million people through group and individual policies, the company offers HMO, PPO, and high-deductable health plans. Founded in 1945, BCBST also provides Medicare plans to another 1 million customers, and its Group Insurance Services unit brokers vision, dental, life, accident, and disability plans. Its Volunteer State Health Plan unit provides coverage for low-income members and children through state-sponsored programs. BCBST is a member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Geographic Reach BCBST has representative offices in Jackson, Johnson City, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville, Tennessee. The company's statewide provider network includes some 21,000 physician practices, 180 hospitals, and 2,300 pharmacy locations. The company processes more than 250,000 claims per day. Operations For an insurance provider, data is all, and BCBST is working to improve the overall quality of its services through enhanced data management. The company's information services units include Shared Health, a health information exchange, and Gordian Health Solutions, an employee wellness management firm. BCBST also owns a minority stake in the TriZetto Group, which offers enterprise software, outsourcing, and other services for the health care industry. Sales and Marketing BCBST customer base is made up of some 15,000 group benefit accounts (for corporate businesses) and 2.3 million individual policyholders. Financial Performance BCBST increased revenues by 4% to $5.6 billion in 2011 as a result of higher earnings from premiums, administrative fees, commissions, and other revenue sources, as well as net realized gains on investments. As a result of higher revenues, net income also increased by 47% to about $176 million. Strategy In 2011 BCBST expanded its technology services by launching a mobile application for members to access plan information. In addition, in 2010 the company redesigned its consumer website to integrate plan management, health monitoring, and wellness tools. It has also established patient-centered medical homes to better monitor a patient's care by connecting him electronically with a coordinating physician. To attract new health members, BCBST has expanded its offering of high-deductable plans, which allow customers to use pre-tax health savings accounts to provide a low-premium offering. To cut health care costs and improve members' health, the company is also expanding its wellness and disease management programs. It has launched a personal health advocacy and information program dubbed Well+Wise, and in 2011 the company extended the program to include a corporate-focused version dubbed Well+Wise at Work. In addition to cutting costs for customers, in 2012 BCBST implemented some restructuring measures within its own organization to reduce operating expenses.