Independence Blue Cross and its subsidiaries are the Philadelphia region’s largest health insurers with more than 2.6 million members locally, and 3.4 million overall.

We employ nearly 6,000 people, annually process more than 30 million claims, and respond to more than 6 million customer inquiries.

We serve all areas of the health care market by offering quality products and services such as Managed Care, Traditional Indemnity, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Independence Blue Cross began in 1938 as the Associated Hospital Service of Philadelphia — it was the first prepaid hospitalization plan in the region. Philadelphia Mayor S. Davis Wilson enrolled as the first subscriber, and Independence Hall became the first employer group to purchase coverage.

At the end of our first year, we had more than 160,000 subscribers. By 1958, we employed 600 people, contracted with 94 hospitals, and handled 3,000 subscriber inquiries a day. In 1988, we began doing business as Independence Blue Cross.