Texas Farm Bureau Reunites With Blue Cross/Blue Shield

By David Dankwa

InsuranceNewsNet

More than three decades after it severed the relationship, Texas Farm Bureau Insurance has teamed with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas to provide health care coverage to its members.

In 1944, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas’ health coverage became the first member service offered to Texas Farm Bureau members, even before auto, home and life insurance services were provided. The relationship ended in 1981, according to a statement.

<p> Texas Farm Bureau provides multiple lines of insurance to its 500,000 member families in Texas through local agents in 200 counties. Currently, the Farm Bureau provides 3,200 members with health insurance.

Existing health plan members are being asked to transition to Blue Cross and Shield of Texas effective Jan. 1. The two organizations said the change is designed to strengthen insurance products offered to Farm Bureau members in Texas while extending the health insurer’s network across the state.

“The change comes at a pivotal time when new laws and regulations are forcing dramatic changes in health care and forcing providers across the nation to reevaluate operations,” Jeff Tikkanen, president of retail markets for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, said in a statement.

Kenneth Dierschke, president of Texas Farm Bureau and Texas Farm Bureau Insurance, said the relationship with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas will prepare its agents and make them leaders in this new environment.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is the state’s oldest and largest provider of health insurance products. It has nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals within its network.

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