Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois traces its roots to the depths of the Great Depression and a group of Chicago business leaders who witnessed how relatively minor illnesses that required a hospital stay were ruining families financially. These business leaders saw terrible hardship in their community and they took action to alleviate it. In 1936, they pooled their own savings and launched a not-for-profit company called Hospital Service Corporation to offer an affordable pre-paid hospital plan, which was a new concept at that time. The Chicago Plan, as it was called, was one the forerunners of what we know as health insurance today. The idea, of course, caught on and Hospital Service Corporation eventually became Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois.

Today, we are the largest and most experienced health insurance company in the state, providing more than 6.5 million members with comprehensive and affordable health plans.