Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) is a federation of 36 separate United States health insurance organizations and companies, providing health insurance to more than 106 million Americans. Blue Cross was founded in 1929, and became the Blue Cross Association in 1960, while Blue Shield emerged in 1939 and the Blue Shield Association was created in 1948. The two organizations merged in 1982.

History

Blue Cross and Blue Shield developed separately, with Blue Cross plans providing coverage for hospital services and Blue Shield covering physicians' services.

Blue Cross is a name used by an association of health insurance plans throughout the United States. Its predecessor was developed by Justin Ford Kimball in 1929, while he was vice president of Baylor University's health care facilities in Dallas, Texas. The first plan guaranteed teachers 21 days of hospital care for $6 a year, was later extended to other employee groups in Dallas, and then nationally. The American Hospital Association (AHA) adopted the Blue Cross symbol in 1939 as the emblem for plans meeting certain standards. In 1960, the AHA commission was superseded by the Blue Cross Association. Blue Cross severed its ties with the AHA in 1972.

Blue Shield

Blue Shield may refer to:

See also

Blue Shield (comics)

The Blue Shield is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Publication history

The Blue Shield first appeared in Dazzler #5 (July 1981), and was created by Tom DeFalco and Frank Springer.

The character appeared sporadically through the years since then, having made appearances in Dazzler #14 (April 1982), Contest of Champions #3 (August 1982), Marvel Age Annual #1 (1985), Captain America #352 (April 1989), Quasar #8 (March 1990), Marvel Super Heroes vol. 3 #3 (September 1990), Quasar #51-53 (October–December 1993), #57 (April 1994), Avengers vol. 3 #6 (July 1998), and The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 2 #550 (February 2008)

Blue Shield received an entry in the original Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #2, and in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition #1.

Fictional character biography

Joe Cartelli was born in the Bronx, New York. He is the son of Frank Cartelli, who was gunned down by the mob. He became a crime fighter, and started to infiltrate the Barrigan crime family, masquerading as a mobster. At one point, he somehow acquired a belt with micro-circuitry of unknown origin that could give him the Blue Shield powers, and used it to fight his family and various other criminals. He also shortly allied with Dazzler.

Blue Cross

Blue Cross may refer to:

Animal healthcare and welfare

Human healthcare

Buildings

Blue Cross (animal charity)

Blue Cross is a registered animal welfare charity in the United Kingdom, founded in 1897 as Our Dumb Friends League. The charity provides support for pet owners who cannot afford private veterinary treatment, helps to find homes for unwanted animals, and educates the public in the responsibilities of animal ownership.

The charity works closely with a number of other organizations to promote animal welfare and responsible pet ownership.

History

The organisation was founded on 10 May 1897 in London as Our Dumb Friends League, to care for working horses on the streets of the British capital. It opened its first animal hospital, in Victoria, London, on 15 May 1906.

In 1912, the league launched The Blue Cross Fund to care for horses during the Balkan War. On the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, it was quickly reopened again. By the armistice in 1918, the Blue Cross Fund had raised nearly £170,000 – the equivalent of almost £6.5 million today – to care for the animals of conflict. Over 50,000 horses were treated in Blue Cross hospitals in France, and the charity had sent vital veterinary supplies to 3,500 units of the British Army.

Blue Cross (chemical warfare)

Blue Cross (Blaukreuz) is a World War I chemical warfare agent consisting of diphenylchloroarsine (DA, Clark I), diphenylcyanoarsine (CDA, Clark II), ethyldichloroarsine (Dick), and/or methyldichloroarsine (Methyldick). Clark I and Clark II were the main agents used.

Clark I was used with Green Cross munition earlier; however for the first time it was used as a standalone agent in the night from July 10 to July 11 1917 at Nieuwpoort, Belgium, during "Operation Strandfest". The artillery munition used as a delivery vehicle contained a large amount of glass spheres closed with a cork and sealed with trinitrotoluene. Later N-ethylcarbazole was added. Depending on the caliber, the munition contained between 7 and 120 kilograms of the agent.

Blue Cross is also a generic World War I German marking for artillery shells with chemical payload affecting the upper respiratory tract.

See also