Best Health Insurance in Virginia

Blue Cross Blue Shield is the renowned parent company of health insurance names like Anthem, CareFirst, Regence, Wellmark, Highmark, Capital, Empire, Independence, Horizon, and Premera. It oversees 36 different companies, all of which are locally operated, however. A nationwide company, BCBS has helped about 105 million people since its founding in 1929. 

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Humana was founded in 1961. One of the bigger names in health insurance, the company was actually bought out in June 2015 by an even bigger name that has company roots in the 1850s, Aetna. In many ways, this merge will make two strong companies even stronger, serving a combined membership of 4.4 million.

Kaiser Permanente was founded in 1945 and has since grown to now employ more than 177,000 people. Founded in Oakland, California, this insurance company has about 10.1 million members in Colorado, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, California, Virginia, Maryland, and DC. Its subsidiaries are the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Permanente Medical Groups. 

Though its origins go back 200 years, Cigna was officially founded in 1982 when two companies came together. Since then, the company has grown worldwide, serving 86 million customers in 30 countries! With a base of 37,000 employees, Cigna was ranked 97th on Fortune 500’s 2014 list. It offers a wide selection of health plans and several unique qualities to health insurance. 

Anthem is owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). In fact, it is the biggest network that BCBS operates. Founded in 2004, Anthem is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, and currently serves about 38 million Americans.  

Based in San Antonio, Texas, USAA was actually created as an auto insurance provider in 1922. Today it has expanded to provide many types of insurance, including health plans. Its customers are limited to US military personnel and their families.

CareFirst is a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield and has company roots that go back to 1934. In this year, Group Hospitalizations, Inc. was created. The company name changed over the years, but in the late ’90s it became known as CareFirst. Since then, CareFirst has grown to employ 5,000 people and serve 3.4 million members. 

Alfa Insurance has a unique history that began with the Alabama Farmers Federation. This group of farmers was initiated in 1921 and eventually sought out fire insurance. In 1946 they founded Alfa Insurance, which has grown to provide several types of insurance to a million customers across 11 states. 

Coventry Healthcare was founded in 1978 under the name of Group Health Plan of Greater St. Louis. What started out as a nonprofit headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, has since grown to help five million customers around the US! In 2013 Fortune Magazine named them one of the World’s Most Admired Companies, and in May of that year Coventry was acquired by Aetna.