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BlueCard®

Whether you're traveling across the country or around the world, our unique BlueCard program helps members access physicians, hospitals, and health services across the nation and around the world.*

  • BlueCard is a national program that allows members to obtain health care services that match their plan benefits when traveling or living in countries outside their Home Plan service area.
  • More than 90 percent of all hospitals and 80 percent of physicians in the United States contract with Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) Plans.
  • Outside the United States, members have access to doctors and hospitals in more than 185 countries and territories around the world through the BlueCard® Worldwide Program.

Need a quick way to know if your plan includes BlueCard benefits?

Look for the little suitcase logo on your member ID card. Here’s an example:

Find a Doctor or Hospital Worldwide

  • BlueCard Doctor and Hospital Finder  (you will be sent to the BlueCard Worldwide Web site)
  • BlueCard Worldwide Service Center inside the U.S.: 1.800.810.BLUE (2583)
  • BlueCard Worldwide Service Center outside the U.S. (call collect): 1.804.673.1177

En Español 

When You Need Healthcare Outside The U.S.

  1. Always carry your Blue Cross and Blue Shield identification card.
  2. Check with your Blue Cross and Blue Shield provider before leaving the U.S. because your health care benefits may be different outside the U.S.
  3. If you need emergency medical care, go to the nearest hospital. Call the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center at 1.800.810.BLUE (2583) or call collect at 1.804.673.1177 if you're admitted.
  4. If you need non-emergency inpatient medical care, you must call the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center. The Service Center will facilitate hospitalization at a BlueCard Worldwide hospital or make an appointment with a doctor. It is important that you call the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center in order to obtain cash-less access for inpatient care except for your usual out-of-pocket expenses (e.g., deductible, coinsurance). The Service Center is staffed with multilingual representatives and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
  5. Call your local BCBS provider for pre-certification or prior authorization, if necessary. Refer to the phone number on the back of your card.

Claims Filing and Payment Information

  • For inpatient care at a BlueCard Worldwide® hospital that was arranged through the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center, 1.800.810.BLUE (2583), you only pay the provider the usual out-of-pocket expenses (non-covered services, deductible, co-payment and co-insurance). The provider files the claim for you.
  • For all outpatient and professional medical care, you pay the provider and submit a claim. You may also have to pay the hospital (and submit a claim) for inpatient care obtained from a non-BlueCard Worldwide® hospital or when inpatient care was not arranged through the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center.
  • To submit a claim, you complete an International Claim Form and send it to the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center. The claim form must be completed fully otherwise it will be returned to you and payment will be delayed. Please click here  for an example of a completed form.

Download an International Claim Form

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the International Claim Form. You can get the Acrobat Reader at www.adobe.com .


* BlueCard coverage may vary for each Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan, so be sure to check with your Plan before traveling. BlueCard benefits do not apply to Medicare Supplement Plans A and B, Medicare Carveout, Blue Medicare PPO Value Plan, Blue Medicare PPO Advantage Plan, or Medicaid BlueSalud members.

Neither the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any of its independent Licensees shall be liable for any losses, damages, or uncovered charges as a result of using the BlueCard Worldwide Service Center or receiving care from any provider listed on this site.