Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Expands BlueCare Dental Network

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) has acquired DenteMax by Dental Network of America (DNoA), a wholly owned dental subsidiary of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates Blue Cross Plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. As a result, the DNoA Preferred Network in Illinois will be increased by more than 500 dentist access points on August 1, 2009.

DenteMax was previously a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan. The acquisition brings the two strategically focused companies under one umbrella. DenteMax has one of the nation’s largest independent dental PPO networks in excess of 91,000 dentist access points, serving more than 5 million members nationwide. In addition, DenteMax leases its network to approximately 200 benefit payers. DNoA is known primarily for the exceptional customer service and third party administrator services they provide to more than 2.6 million Blue Cross and Blue Shield members in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.