What Does Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Insurance Cover? 
Blue Cross/Blue Shield health insurance is a brand name dating back to the depression era for what were once state based health insurance plans with a charter to provide affordable health insurance for the citizens of the state they were chartered in . In many ways they were treated as non-profit organizations which often gave them a competitive advantage versus for profit health insurance companies . Over the decades there has been consolidation among many state BC/BS plans and telling the difference between today 's Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans and their other health insurance competitors is largely a distinction without a difference in today 's marketplace . Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans generally provide a range of individual and group insurance products and administrative services that range from health insurance to dental , vision , life and disability insurance . At a minimum they cover all medical services required by their state health insurance regulations and the requirements of the Federal Affordable Care Act . In this regard what they cover is no different than what you will find covered by insurance carriers such as CIGNA , Aetna , Humana or United Healthcare to give you some commonly known competitors . You will observe differences in various health plan design options and perhaps in how their rates are quoted between all health insurance carriers , whether it is Blue Cross/Blue Shield or any other insurance carriers but the basic services they are covering are all essentially the same . 