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Historical Highlights — 1990s
1990
BCBSM announces dramatic turnaround in corporate financial reserves.
BCBSM offers physicians and other professional health care providers a new participating agreement that includes a simplified payment schedule. Committees comprised of physicians and board members review ongoing interpretation of the contract. Eventually, eight out of 10 physicians in the state accept the participation plan.
BCBSM honors 76 clients who purchased health care coverage from the corporation for its entire 50 years.
The Caring Program for Children begins.
BCBSM offers a PPO option to individual, nongroup subscribers for the first time.
1991
BCBSM opens a new west Michigan Regional Service Center in Grand Rapids.
1992
BCBSM sponsors the first of an ongoing series of Continuing Medical Education Programs for physicians.
1994
A General Accounting Office report says BCBSM is financially sound.
The state sells The Accident Fund Insurance Company, a worker's compensation insurance company, to BCBSM.
1995
BCBSM opens a new Upper Peninsula Regional Service Center in Marquette.
The federal government shifts the Medicare claims processing contract to Health Services Company of Illinois.
BCBSM offers a new managed Traditional product, BlueWest, in west Michigan. The plan includes preventive care such as office visits, well-baby care and immunizations.
Blue Care Network membership totals more than 500,000, making it the largest HMO entity in Michigan.
The company commits to a strategy of "integrated health management," the concept of assisting Blues members who are well to stay well, identifying those at risk for health problems and reducing the risk through lifestyle changes and managing the care of chronically or seriously ill members to achieve the best possible health results.
1996
The Blues break ground for a new $27 million facility adjacent to the downtown Detroit service center. The project includes a six-story, 160,000-square-foot office building and parking structure.
The September issue of U.S. News and World Report recognizes Blue Care Network of east Michigan as one of America's top HMOs. BCN's record of preventive care and quality of physician panel are used as basis for ranking.
President and CEO, Richard E. Whitmer, announces board and management's commitment to maintain BCBSM as a nonprofit corporation.
The Caring Program for Children celebrates five years of providing preventive and basic health care coverage to uninsured Michigan children 19 years of age and under. Since 1991, more than 13,000 youngsters statewide have received coverage through the program.
1997
BCBSM purchases PPOM, a Michigan-based health care network management company that independently contracts with hospitals, physicians and other providers to offer health care services in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
BCBSM becomes the first health insurer in the state to offer tax-deductible medical savings accounts to small business owners. The product, called MedSave, uses pre-tax dollars to cover medical expenses such as physician visits and hospitalization.
Blue Preferred Plus, a preferred provider organization covering 200,000 autoworkers, becomes the first PPO in the state to receive accreditation for high quality from the Utilization Review Accreditation Commission.
BCBSM board of directors approves a proposal to combine the company’s four health maintenance organizations into one statewide HMO, Blue Care Network of Michigan. With nearly 590,000 members, BCN becomes the largest provider network in the state.
A new 30,000 square-foot customer service facility opens in Portage, serving the southwest Michigan region.
1998
The Michigan Insurance Bureau approves a merger of four separate Blue Care Network health maintenance organizations into a single HMO.
BCBSM receives Brand Excellence Award from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. The award honors Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies for outstanding commitment to enhancing the Blue brands in the marketplace.
BCBSM opens new Bricktown Customer Service Plaza building in October. The new six-story 160,000-square-foot customer service plaza is adjacent to the Blues' existing downtown 21-story office tower.
1999
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Federal Employee Program Service Center achieves the COPC-2000 Standard. This comprehensive performance standard awards customer service centers that successfully complete a rigorous review and demonstrate delivery of high levels of quality service to customers. The Michigan Blues are the first health care benefits company and among the very first providers in the nation to achieve the rigorous standard.
BCBSM launches new statewide program, Affinity Rx, to help more than 180,000 Medicare-eligible individuals, mostly senior citizens, save up to 25 percent on prescription drugs.
BCBSM begins working with John E. Wennberg, MD, MPH, director of a group of researchers at Dartmouth Medical School's Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences, to analyze the use and supply of health care resources in Michigan.
The merger of Blue Care Network's four regional HMOs into one managed care company is finalized. With more than 600,000 members, the consolidation results in BCN becoming Michigan's largest HMO.
BCBSM's General Auditor division is one of 43 organizations worldwide selected to receive the Commitment to Quality Improvement Award from The Institute of Internal Auditors.
