Dalya Qualls White, SVP & Chief Communications Officer
Like health insurers across the country, BlueCross has seen a sharp rise in claims costs – a trend that started in the second half of 2024 and has only gotten more challenging. We no longer see this as a temporary shift, and we have to reduce our staffing levels to meet the challenges ahead.
We’re reducing current roles and providing support to affected employees
Today we met with around 95 BlueCross employees whose positions are being eliminated, and then we shared information on these reductions with the rest of our employees. We have also eliminated around 28 vacant positions that are no longer essential to supporting our operations moving forward. These are not customer-facing roles.
These were difficult decisions to make because we understand the personal impact. We are providing several weeks’ notice, generous severance and job search assistance to affected employees.
And as always, we’re grateful for our team members and their dedication to serving our BlueCross members.
Why these difficult decisions were necessary
We’re not alone in facing financial challenges as medical costs began to spike in the second half of 2024. Health insurers across the country have experienced significant financial losses, including some that threaten their sustainability. Many have responded with aggressive cost-cutting measures.
We’ve been working hard to reduce medical costs. And we’ve always believed it’s our responsibility to be good stewards of premium dollars, which includes keeping our operating costs low. Since the second half of 2024, we’ve been making both short-term and long-term changes to our administrative spending so we can protect affordability for our customers.
Some of these decisions included:
- restricting non-essential travel
- being more cautious about which vacant jobs to backfill
- taking a fresh look at vendors and contracts
- reducing corporate sponsorships
We got ahead of these trends and remain in a stronger position than many of our peers. But despite these efforts, we had to do more on behalf of our customers. And we face significant enrollment challenges in 2026, due in part to the evolving legislative and regulatory environment.
Looking ahead, we will also continue our work to reduce medical costs on behalf of the employers and members we serve.