Blue Cross Blue Shield closing Abilene office, shifting employees to remote work

By Bruce Campbell/West Texas Tribune

Abilene employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance have been notified that the company will be vacating their office building at 4002 Loop 322 as of May 29, 2026.  At that time all employees will be working from home instead of having to come to the office.

An inquiry to the media relations office of Blue Cross Blue Shield has resulted in this statement from the company about the action:

 “Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is committed to our mission of expanding access to quality care for people at all stages of life. We continuously evaluate our workforce and business operations to ensure that we are effective and productive as we meet the challenges of an evolving health care industry.

 “As part of our ongoing efforts to support the growing needs of our business, BCBSTX employees at our Abilene office will shift from a partially remote work schedule to fully remote work. As a result, we are consolidating our physical footprint. We remain committed to our employees and the communities we serve and will continue to work in collaboration with local partners to help create healthier communities.”

 Although the company did not respond to a question about the reason for the change, the timing is such that it coincides with settlement payments to be made by Blue Cross Blue Shield in a now-concluded class action lawsuit which will result in payments to policy holders of up to $1.9 Billion beginning in May of this year among roughly 6 million claimants.

The owner of the office building the insurance company has occupied for the past 25+ years is the Development Corporation of Abilene.  Blue Cross Blue Shield is one of the largest employers in Abilene, with as many as 1,000 employees.