BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is laying off an additional 95 employees and eliminating 28 vacant positions in non customer-facing roles.
“Like health insurers across the country, BlueCross has seen a sharp rise in claims costs – a trend that started in the second half of 2024 and has only gotten more challenging,” SVP & Chief Communications Officer, Dalya Qualls White, wrote Sept. 5. “We no longer see this as a temporary shift, and we have to reduce our staffing levels to meet the challenges ahead.”
Since the second half of 2024, the company has restricted non-essential travel, been more cautious about which vacant jobs to backfill, reviewed its vendors and contracts, and reduced corporate sponsorships.
The latest workforce reduction comes as the company works to shut down its subsidiary Shared Health, a move affecting 150 employees. Shared Health provides plans to individuals dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid in Texas and Mississippi.
“We got ahead of these trends and remain in a stronger position than many of our peers,” Ms. Qualls White said. “But despite these efforts, we had to do more on behalf of our customers. And we face significant enrollment challenges in 2026, due in part to the evolving legislative and regulatory environment.”
