Established in 1944 as part of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Hampshire and Vermont, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont split from the New Hampshire plan in the early 1980s and began building its own infrastructure. Quickly growing from a company with approximately 50 employees, BCBS of Vermont now employs more than 300 and is a health care financing mechanism of choice for the majority of Vermont residents. The company is one of the states only Vermont-based health coverage carriers. The company has been a primary financing mechanism that enabled the states hospitals and physicians to build one of the finest and most efficient health care delivery systems in the nation. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont maintains its corporate headquartered in Montpelier, Vt.