GM
Blue Cross Michigan CEO delivers ‘bad news’ after losing big customer
Summer BallentineThe Detroit News
Updated Oct. 8, 2026, 8:13 p.m. ET
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General Motors Co. is dropping Blue Cross Blue Shield and switching to Aetna Inc. to administer health insurance for the automaker’s salaried Michigan employees, the company confirmed Thursday, Oct. 8
GM’s planned Jan. 1 move to Aetna will affect roughly 92,000 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Mutual Insurance members “and is the outcome of an extended GM procurement process,” President and CEO Tricia Keith wrote in an internal memo obtained by The Detroit News
She said the decision “reinforces the competitiveness of the health insurance market” and pushed staff to double down on efforts to make coverage more affordable
“We must take this bad news, learn from it, and use it as rocket fuel to accelerate ongoing efforts to change our company, advance our technology, develop our workforce, evolve our culture and improve the experience of our customers and members,” Keith wrote. “We have had much success in these efforts, but we need to go faster to sustain our competitiveness.”
GM is self-insured, meaning the automaker — not a third-party insurance company — pays for a portion of salaried employees’ medical bills, spokesperson Kevin Kelly said. But Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan had administered the program for GM, he said
Michigan is the only state where GM uses Blue Cross as its health care administrator, Kelly said. All 40,000 salaried GM workers in the United States will have Aetna as health care administrator of Jan. 1, 2027, he said. Employees were notified of the change Wednesday
Kelly said changes to health care coverage for Michigan residents will not be significant. He did not immediately provide cost savings GM will see by consolidating administrative work under 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,” Kelly said in a statement. “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.”
The hit to Blue Cross Blue Shield came a day before Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel filed an antitrust lawsuit against the health insurance giant, claiming the company created an illegal monopoly in the state
BCBSM has about 4.5 million customers in Michigan
BCBSM will continue to cover GM’s unionized workforce of about 100,000 employees and their dependents, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan spokesperson Andy Hetzel said in a statement
“While GM’s decision disappoints us, we are confident in our market-leading position in our industry and the direction of our company’s transformation,” Hetzel said
sballentine@detroitnews.com
