CareFirst Welcomes Three-Millionth Member

Marking a milestone in its sixty-four year history, CareFirst welcomed its three millionth insured member in June 2001. As part of the celebration, the historic member, Shelly Duguid, a 22-year old woman from Bel Air, Maryland, received prizes and recognition in a small ceremony. She will also receive additional recognition in CareFirst's communications to associates, members and the local media.

Duguid, a recent Salisbury State graduate, found herself no longer covered by her parents' insurance plan. Her new job did not offer any health insurance so she decided to enroll with CareFirst through Individual Express, the first online enrollment service offered by an insurance carrier in the Maryland-Washington, DC area. Through Individual Express, she could check premium rates and even complete her enrollment application for individual coverage electronically.

For consumers like Duguid, logging on to the website www.carefirst.com to find health care coverage was easy. "My sister referred me to the CareFirst web site," said Duguid. "I was a little apprehensive at first, but . . . it wasn't as bad as I had expected. My enrollment packet arrived within a few weeks."

The 3 millionth member is a stepping stone in a long history of healthcare coverage for CareFirst. CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield was founded in 1937 and was the first "Blue Cross" plan in Maryland. Total membership in 1938 was 4,356 and in 1949 grew to 500,000 members. The plan reached one million members in 1957. CareFirst's 3 million plan members currently span over Northern Virginia, DC, Maryland and Delaware.