Blue Cross Blue Shield and BUPA join to create largest global healthcare network for expatriates and travelers

Blue Cross Blue Shield offers coverage in all 50 states and is accepted by more than 90 percent of doctors and specialists nationwide, but what if life takes you abroad?  Expatriates, business travelers, students and tourists can rest easy: BCBS has you covered there, too.

In January, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and Bupa, a leading international healthcare company headquartered in the United Kingdom, announced a partnership that will create the largest global healthcare provider network for expatriates and travelers.

Launching later this year, the partnership will combine the BCBS network in the U.S with Bupa’s global network, totaling more than 11,500 hospitals and approximately 750,000 medical professionals in more than 190 countries.  Bupa and BCBS companies will also develop new insurance products offered through GeoBlue, a BCBS branded international insurance product.

Scott Serota, CEO of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, said that an increasingly global world calls for an expansion of the safety and security BCBS Members have come to know.

“Blue Cross Blue Shield and Bupa are two of the most respected names in health care and we will work together to offer the best solution for individuals and organizations by providing access to healthcare around the world,” Serota said. “We live in a global village, with millions of consumers going abroad for extended periods of business, leisure and study. Travelers around the world can now benefit from the security and stability that Blue Cross and Blue Shield members have long relied on.”

“We know that people are becoming increasingly globally mobile – either to live, study or simply travel abroad for long periods of time – and travel insurance doesn’t always provide the coverage they need or expect,” said Robert Lang, managing director of the Bupa Global Market Unit.  “We’re responding by creating the biggest global provider network for people who require international health coverage, and other propositions will follow later this year.”

To learn more about the international programs currently available through GeoBlue, visit their website.