Northwestern Blues' Parent to Run North Carolina Blue

Cambia Health Solutions and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina say they will be uniting through a deal that is not an acquisition.

North Carolina Blue will operate under the Cambia Health Solutions name, and Cambia will manage many administrative services and other corporate services for North Carolina Blue, the companies announced Tuesday.

But each company will keep its current main offices, and each will keep its own corporate structure, its own board of trustees, its own revenue streams, and its own capital and assets, the companies say.

Mark Ganz, Cambia’s president, will serve as the executive chair of the combined organization, the companies say.

Patrick Conway, the chief executive officer of North Carolina Blue, will become the CEO of Cambia, and he will continue to be North Carolina Blue’s CEO, the companies say.

“The goal of the affiliation is to improve quality, lower costs, and deliver an exceptional experience for consumers,” the companies say.

The Companies

Cambia Health is the nonprofit, Portland, Oregon-based parent of Regence BlueCross BlueShield or Oregon, Regence BlueShield in Washington, Regence BlueShield of Idaho and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah.

The oldest carrier in the group was founded in 1917.

Today, the company’s plans provide or administer major medical coverage for 2.6 million people.

North Carolina Blue is a Durham, North Carolina-based nonprofit that was founded in 1933. It now provides or administers major medical coverage for 3.7 million people.

North Carolina Blue suffered severe customer service problems in 2017, as the result of problems with a transition to a new information technology system, and it has also took big hits when the federal government failed to operate major Affordable Care Act subsidy programs as insurers had expected.