On April 1, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) will celebrate 75 years as Oklahoma’s oldest and largest private health insurer. BCBSOK started as “Group Hospital Services of Oklahoma” and opened its doors on March 15, 1940, in the Tulsa Loan Building in downtown Tulsa. The first health plans were effective on April 1, 1940, and soon after, they adopted the Blue Cross name and logo. The Blue Shield Companion Plan, initially known as Oklahoma Physician’s Services, was established in 1945.

“I am extremely proud of our heritage and dedication to Oklahoma,” BCBSOK President Ted Haynes said. “Health care has changed so much throughout the past 75 years, but we’re still standing by our members through it all.”

By the 1950s, BCBSOK membership was soaring, and the company had grown from 13 employees in 1945 to 130 in 1952. Ground was broken in March 1953 for a new building at 1215 S. Boulder in Tulsa. Much of the member growth in the 1950s is attributed to the company’s Community Enrollment Program that was established in 1953. Two booth trailers were purchased in 1956 to serve as mobile enrollment offices.

Ralph Rhoades, left, advertising and public relations manager in the 1950s, and later BCBSOK president from 1977 until 1997, greets a new member as he steps from one of the trailers used in
Community Enrollment drives.

This mobile enrollment concept is one that BCBSOK is still utilizing more than 50 years later. The brand new Mobile Assistance Center (MAC) will allow Oklahomans to receive one-on-one assistance with health insurance like never before. It is a fully equipped mobile kiosk designed to accommodate multiple customers at once, with the ability to provide customer service with the help of six secure docked iPads.

The Mobile Assistance Center was unveiled at the Tulsa Headquarters building on Jan. 21. Pictured from left to right: Oklahoma Chief of Staff Nicole Amend, Senior Manager of Business Development Kevin Holmes, Community Outreach Specialists Christian Gray and Max McKenzie,
and President Ted Haynes.

The MAC and its team of community outreach specialists will be on the road to a healthier Oklahoma, as it travels to events and locations in rural and tribal communities throughout the state, in 2015 and beyond.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield operated for more than 30 years as separate entities with shared management and staff, until 1973, when the two merged into Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma. Health care programs have continued to grow and change with the public interest in mind. Emphasis on the health and welfare of Oklahoma communities has remained the number one priority for BCBSOK.

Today, BCBSOK has more than 800,000 members and employs nearly 1,100 loyal Oklahomans. As BCBSOK marks 2015 with 75 years of history and success, they will continue the hard work of addressing the health issues facing the state, and focus on how they can help make Oklahoma a healthier place to live, work and raise a family. The legacy of BCBSOK has always been rooted in keeping members the most important priority and recognizing the significant impact they have had toward the company’s success.

“We are excited to look forward to the next hundred years and how we can actively contribute to the health of our great state,” Haynes said.

BCBSOK will be creating a 75th Anniversary Web page to display testimonials, photos, videos to learn about the company’s unique history. If you have anything you’d like to share, please email catherine_divis@bcbsok.com.