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Capital Blue Cross
Capital Blue Cross, headquartered in Harrisburg, offers health insurance products and solutions across a 21-county service area. President and CEO Todd Shamash leads more than 1,800 employees through the organization’s 88th year.
The organization traces its roots to 1938, when several central hospitals organized a nonprofit hospital payment plan known as Capital Hospital Service. Founded during the Great Depression — when few people had the income to pay for hospital care — the plan was built on the principle that healthcare should be available to all who wanted financial security. Capital Hospital Service became Capital Blue Cross in 1965.
In 1945, Capital became one of the first Blue Cross plans to offer a comprehensive hospitalization package. A utilization review program followed in 1958 — one of the first in the country — and in 1974, Capital launched one of the first computerized claims systems nationally. A 1985 merger with Blue Cross of the Lehigh Valley expanded the service area to 21 counties.
Capital Blue Cross maintains an active community presence through its Community Impact team, providing financial and volunteer support to hundreds of local organizations annually with a focus on health equity in underserved communities.
