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Blue Distinction® Specialty Care

Find the Right Hospital for You

When you or your family needs specialty care, you want the best available. Blue Distinction Specialty Care helps you find high-quality options with the expertise for your special needs.

Blue Distinction Center and Blue Distinction Center+ designations are awarded to doctors and hospitals based on a thorough, objective evaluation of their performance in the areas that matter most — quality care, treatment expertise and overall patient results, just to name a few. Selection criteria are developed with the help of expert physicians and medical organizations. Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ have a proven history of delivering better quality and results outcomes than those without Blue Distinction.

There Are Two Distinct Recognitions

Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ have a proven history of delivering exceptional care and results. With two levels of recognition, you and your doctor can choose the option that best meets your needs.

  • Blue Distinction Centers
    Demonstrate quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results.
  • Blue Distinction Centers+
    Demonstrate more affordable care in addition to quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results.

The Areas of Specialty Care

Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care include:

  • Bariatric Surgery
  • Cardiac Care
  • Cellular Immunotherapy
  •  Fertility Care
  • Gene Therapy
  • Knee and Hip Replacement
  • Spine Surgery
  • Substance Use Treatment
  • Transplants 

Find a Blue Distinction Center

With a click or call, you can find a Blue Distinction Center for your specialty care needs near your home or work. Blue Distinction Centers are available nationwide and focus on high-volume and high-risk areas of specialty care.

Please see your Benefit Summary or call a BCBSIL Customer Advocate for more information about your coverage.

For More Program Information

You can find more information about this program under the Doctors and Hospitals section of your Blue Access for MembersSM account.

Note: Blue Distinction Centers (BDC) met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. A Local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for providers located in its own service area; for details, contact your Local Blue Plan. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) also met cost measures that address consumers’ need for affordable health care. Each provider’s cost of care is evaluated using data from its Local Blue Plan. Providers in CA, ID, NY, PA, and WA may lie in two Local Blue Plans’ areas, resulting in two evaluations for cost of care; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether one or both cost of care evaluation(s) must meet BDC+ national criteria. National criteria for BDC and BDC+ are displayed on www.bcbs.com. Individual outcomes may vary. For details on a provider’s in-network status or your own policy’s coverage, contact your Local Blue Plan and ask your provider before making an appointment. Neither Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for non-covered charges or other losses or damages resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers.