The year was 1929. The stock market crashed. Will Rogers cheered an anguished American public. And America braced itself for the coming of the Great Depression.

It was during this dark economic period in history that the foundation was established for Texas' only statewide non-investor-owned health coverage company -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Our story is in many ways the story of the evolution of our nation's health care system. It's about how Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas democratized health care, opening the door to affordable coverage for millions of Americans. And it's a legacy handed down to us by one extraordinary man whose "50-cent" idea revolutionized health coverage as we know it today.

Genesis of Modern Health Insurance

It was 1929 when Dr. Justin Ford Kimball, a former school superintendent, became an administrator at Baylor Hospital in Dallas and found himself confronting some of the same problems he'd faced as an educator. Reviewing the unpaid accounts receivable of Baylor Hospital, Dr. Kimball recognized many names of Dallas schoolteachers.

Knowing well from experience that these low-paid teachers would never be able to pay their bills, he initiated the not-for-profit Baylor Plan, which allowed teachers to pay 50 cents a month into a fund that guaranteed up to 21 days of hospital care at Baylor Hospital. The Baylor Plan the genesis of modern health insurance sparked interest in hospitals across the country, as they scrambled to set up similar plans. In 1944, the Baylor Plan was merged into the Texas institution we know today as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

Tradition of Caring

For a company that started with the mission "to bring hospitalization coverage within the reach of everyone who earns a paycheck," we have remained true to our founding: providing Texans with quality health coverage at an affordable price.

Since 1939, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has worked to help keep Texans healthy.

History of Firsts

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas was the first in the state to:

• Offer coverage for cancer treatment;
• Offer coverage for catastrophic illnesses, such as polio, leukemia and diphtheria;
• Offer coverage to the poor and elderly before the advent of government programs;
• Offer coverage for infants from birth;
• Offer coverage to migrant farm workers;
• Administer Medicaid; and
• Administer Medicare.

Reaching the Underserved

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas' tradition of caring always has extended to the medically underserved.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas administers:

• The Texas Health Insurance Risk Pool, which helps provide access to health insurance for Texans who otherwise might not be able to obtain coverage. Blue Cross of Texas was the only organization to bid on this program.
• The Care Van Program, a public-private immunization effort designed to help the medically underserved of all ages. The statewide program is sponsored by the Caring for Children Foundation of Texas, Inc., and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.
• The Caring for Children Foundation of Texas, Inc., focuses on providing immunization services to medically underserved Texas children and healthy pregnancy education to medically underserved Texas women through its primary initiative, the Care Van Program.

Promoting Economic Growth

As the state's largest health coverage company, Blue Cross employs more than 5,700 people in 19 Texas cities. Since 1997, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas has opened offices in Abilene, Marshall, Palestine, San Angelo, Waco and Wichita Falls, providing more than 3,000 new jobs and a combined local annual economic impact of more than $100 million.