In the latest blow to Michigan's largest health insurance company, General Motors is dropping Blue Cross Blue Shield for its salaried employees and switching them to Aetna.
The move is set to happen Jan. 1 and will affect some 40,000 members of the automaker's salaried, non-UAW workforce in Michigan and across the country.
This switch in health insurance administrators is not expected to result in significant changes to the employees' insurance plans, including which medical providers and pharmacies they can visit.
GM employees were told this week of the change. The company's open enrollment period for 2027 health insurance plans begins Oct. 21.
GM is self-insured for health insurance, meaning that it directly pays its employees' health care claims
while it contracts with an insurance company to administer the plans. For decades, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has filled that administrator role.
News of the automaker's plan to drop Blue Cross comes on the heels of an Oct. 8 lawsuit from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel against the insurer.
The lawsuit contends that Blue Cross' dominance across the state constitutes an illegal monopoly that forces medical providers to accept unreasonably low reimbursements, even as the cost of health insurance premiums continue to climb for Michiganders.
GM issued a statement Oct. 8 when asked why it was switching administrators from Blue Cross to Aetna.
"GM evaluates its relationships with all our healthcare providers and vendors to ensure we’re offering the right level of care and support for our employees," the statement said. "Their well-being is top priority, and all decisions are made with that in mind. These changes will help simplify employee support across the country and should have little impact on employees and their current providers.”
Blue Cross spokesperson Andy Hetzel said in a statement that the news of GM's decision was disappointing and that Blue Cross will continue to provide health coverage to over 100,000 GM workers and their dependents whose coverage is through the UAW.
"Blue Cross will forever keep our doors open to General Motors and their employees," Hetzel said. "We will be here, right up the street, always ready to serve and ready to help."
Contact JC Reindl: 313-378-5460 or jcreindl@freepress.com. Follow him on X @JCReindl
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why General Motors is dropping Blue Cross for salaried workers
