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It's my new health insurance company too!

City to collect $12.5M from Divvy sponsorship

April 30, 2014|By Jon Hilkevitch, Tribune reporter
  • Phil LeDonne, a bicycle technician supervisor, affixes new decals Wednesday to Divvy bikes bearing the name and logos of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois after the the city awarded the insurance company a $12.5 million sponsorship to be announced Thursday.
Phil LeDonne, a bicycle technician supervisor, affixes new decals Wednesday to Divvy bikes bearing the name and logos of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois after the the city awarded the insurance company a $12.5 million sponsorship to be announced Thursday. (Anthony Souffle, Tribune photo)

Chicago's Divvy bikes will become moving advertisements for the state's largest health insurance company under a corporate sponsorship of the bike-sharing program that provides the city with $12.5 million to improve and expand cycling, officials will announce Thursday.

City officials deemed the five-year agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, the highest bidder in a branding competition, a healthy fit aimed at promoting wellness among a Midwestern population that tends to carry a spare tire around its midsection.  Read the full article from The Trib here.

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Great news! Appropriate sponsor, too.

Absolutely love sharing the roads with Divvy riders, riding in ways I would never ride, making commuting by bike that more visible. A fitting sponsor for such brave newbie riders.

I'm torn between "Yay! Money for divvy and great that divvy promotes health, so good move on Blue Cross' part!" and "UGH INSURANCE COMPANIES SHOULDN'T NEED TO ADVERTISE LIKE THIS BECAUSE THEY SHOULDN'T BE FOR PROFIT ANYWAY." 

So torn. 

 Michelle - Yes, I agree with you, but at the moment that's how our country works.  We've gotten a little closer with the ACA lifting pre-existings, coverage for kids and caps on total out of pocket expenses, but still....whoever decided to make public health into a for profit enterprise should be....spanked to say it lightly.  (disclosure, this is how I understand ACA's positive changes, may or may not be correct)

Juan - I'm a big fan of divvy - better to have more cyclists on the road, give more people who wouldn't have biked the opportunity to ride our beautiful city.  And I love having the option to use a divvy when I don't or can't have my bike with me.  It's an awesome alternative IMO.

Michelle Milham said:

I'm torn between "Yay! Money for divvy and great that divvy promotes health, so good move on Blue Cross' part!" and "UGH INSURANCE COMPANIES SHOULDN'T NEED TO ADVERTISE LIKE THIS BECAUSE THEY SHOULDN'T BE FOR PROFIT ANYWAY." 

So torn. 

Oh I know. It just makes me very angry haha it's definitely one of my hot-button issues. We're so far behind pretty much every other developed nation... and I think the CEO of Blue Cross made more money than this sponsorship just for himself last year, so it honestly seems like a paltry amount to pay for so much advertising, as compared to what the company is pulling in. 


Julie Hochstadter said:

 Michelle - Yes, I agree with you, but at the moment that's how our country works.  We've gotten a little closer with the ACA lifting pre-existings, coverage for kids and caps on total out of pocket expenses, but still....whoever decided to make public health into a for profit enterprise should be....spanked to say it lightly.  (disclosure, this is how I understand ACA's positive changes, may or may not be correct)

Juan - I'm a big fan of divvy - better to have more cyclists on the road, give more people who wouldn't have biked the opportunity to ride our beautiful city.  And I love having the option to use a divvy when I don't or can't have my bike with me.  It's an awesome alternative IMO.

Michelle Milham said:

I'm torn between "Yay! Money for divvy and great that divvy promotes health, so good move on Blue Cross' part!" and "UGH INSURANCE COMPANIES SHOULDN'T NEED TO ADVERTISE LIKE THIS BECAUSE THEY SHOULDN'T BE FOR PROFIT ANYWAY." 

So torn. 

Actually, I believe Health Care Service Corporation, the parent company, and its subsidiary bcbs insurance companies technically qualify as not for profit mutual reserve companies. So, while they may not have "profits" in a technical sense, they have accumulated huge "reserve surpluses" in the past several years which are way larger than required to preserve their solvency while at the same time jacking up rates and paying huge bonuses to executives. The Divvy sponsorship is not even a small drop in their reserve bucket. That said, Divvy could certainly use the money.

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