Our History in Medicare
In 1965, with the elderly population growing in number as well as political prowess, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law a program which would offer health benefits to the elderly and disabled on a national level. Working in coordination with the eligibility requirements of the Social Security Act, Medicare Part A, which covers hospital services, and Medicare Part B, which covers physician services, became operational in 1966. In 1979, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (formerly known as the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA)) put the upstate territory, which consists of the Medicare Part B business for the forty-five counties of upstate New York, up for bid. HealthNow New York Inc., doing business as Blue Shield of Western New York, who until then shared the territory with two other contractors, was awarded the territory. The Binghamton office was opened in the summer of 1979.
Who We Serve
The state of New York is divided into three territories. Each territory has its own Medicare Part B contractor. They are:
- 45 counties of upstate New York - HealthNow New York Inc., Upstate Medicare Division (UMD)
- Queens County - Group Health Insurance, Inc (GHI)
- The remainder of NYC and outlying area - Empire Medicare Services
The 45 counties in New York that we serve:
Albany, Allegany, Broome, Cattaraugus, Cayuga, Chautauqua, Chenango, Chemung, Clinton, Cortland, Erie, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Monroe, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Ontario, Onondaga, Orleans, Oswego, Otsego, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Schuyler, Seneca, Steuben, St. Lawrence, Tioga, Tompkins, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming, and Yates.
Facts and Figures
- We are a medium size contractor processing approximately 17 million claims per year.
- Our service area contains over 20,000 providers and 1.9 million beneficiaries.
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