Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) is a not-for-profit health insurer and an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. It serves more than one million members and is based in Kansas City, Missouri, covering 30 counties in northwest Missouri plus Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas.
Blue KC began as Blue Cross of Kansas City in 1938 and Kansas City Blue Shield in 1943. The two organizations merged in 1982 to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City. In 2003, Anthem’s bid to buy the company was blocked by the Kansas Insurance Commissioner, a decision later upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court. Before the bid, the company had lost about 80,000 policyholders.
From 2014 to 2018, Blue KC participated in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, but withdrew in 2017 after reporting a $100 million loss. In 2015, it created the Blue KC Exchange, a private marketplace for small businesses. Danette Wilson became the first female CEO in 2015, and when she retired in 2019, Erin Stucky took over as CEO. In November 2017, Blue KC launched Spira Care, a plan that combines primary care with health insurance.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:42 (CET).