Blue_Cross_Blue_Sheild

Blue Cross Blue Sheild Blue Cross and Blue Shield BACKGROUND The first prepayment plan was started in 1929, by Justin Ford Kimball. He had no experience in health care but he did have knowledge for financial management. He developed a sick benefit fund so the teachers would have something to fall back on if they had the bad luck of catching the dreaded influenza. They contributed $1.00 a month and if they became sick, they were entitled to compensation of $5.00 a day to cover work loss. The officials at Baylor needed him to help finances at University Hospital in the medical education department. He had experience as an insurance lawyer, school superintendent and university professor. In the 1920’s hospital cost had risen and the medical education and advanced technology in the hospital setting needed an upgrading. In the early 20’s the hospital setting had doubled its bed capacity but all that started to change toward the end of the 20’s when occupancy rates had went down as low as 1/3 during an economic depression. Hospitals were beginning to see large losses and current bills were getting behind. Kimball and an associate named Bryce Twitty were discussing what could be done to help people hospital, blue, health, care, patients, insurance, cross, medical, hospitals, plan, added, doctors, shield, setting, plans, help, first, about, wanted, services, people, coverage, became, said, problems, over, out, needed, medicare, go, sick, security, prepayment, contract, concern, companies