Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin

Blue Cross & Blue Shield United of Wisconsin is the state’s largest health insurer. Blue Cross health plans, under the terms and conditions of the Blue Cross Association, traditionally have been divided into “territories” within which they operate under a license from the Association. For years, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Iowa had run Wellmark Community Insurance in the State of Wisconsin, which had generated some tension between the Iowa and Wisconsin Blue Cross plans.

The Wellmark business in Wisconsin included group health and dental plans, individual and small group health plans, and Medicare supplement policies that collectively provided insurance to more than 15,000 Wisconsin residents. Blue Cross Wisconsin asked Tammie Miller, now a Vice President at Grace Matthews, to orchestrate the purchase of the Wellmark business from Iowa Blue Cross as a way to both settle the pending litigation between the competing organizations and to expand Blue Cross Wisconsin’s customer base.

With Miller’s assistance, a deal was struck and Blue Cross Wisconsin acquired the Wellmark business. For Blue Cross Wisconsin, the acquisition reaffirmed the insurer’s commitment to servicing rural, small group plans as most of the acquired business consisted of individuals and small groups enrolled under the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation. All of Wellmark’s customers were able to be serviced out of Blue Cross Wisconsin’s existing facilities and represented a substantial increase in the Wisconsin subscriber base.