Blue Distinction® Specialty Care helps you find high-quality health care options with the expertise to meet your specific needs.
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. To learn more, contact your local Blue Cross and Blue Shield company.
Demonstrate quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results
Demonstrate more affordable care in addition to quality care, treatment expertise and better overall patient results
With a click or a call, you can find a Blue Distinction Center for your specialty care needs. Visit the Blue Distinction Center Finder, or call the toll-free number on the back of your membership card.
Blue Distinction Specialty Care is a national centers of excellence program recognizing health care facilities and/or providers in the following categories:
Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for bariatric surgery provide a full range of bariatric surgery care; including surgical care, post-operative care, outpatient follow-up care and patient education. These centers have lower complication rates and fewer readmissions
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for bariatric surgery. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers for cancer care provide a full range of cancer services. These centers have a demonstrated focus on delivering quality and value through patient-centered, coordinated care.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for cancer care. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for cardiac care provide a full range of inpatient cardiac care services; including coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), heart valve surgery, and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). These centers demonstrate better quality care and improved patient outcomes, including lower mortality and complication rates.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for cardiac care. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers for cellular immunotherapy focus on treatments used to help the immune system fight diseases, such as cancer. The program includes FDA-approved chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell therapies, which are genetically modified autologous T cell immunotherapies used in the treatment of certain cancers.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for cellular immunotherapy. Review the program selection criteria.
The Blue Distinction Centers for fertility care program focuses on in vitro fertilization (IVF), which is the most common assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for fertility care. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers for gene therapy focus on gene therapies for inherited disorders. The program focuses on FDA-approved gene therapy specifically for ocular disorders used to treat patients with a specific type of inherited blindness. The treatment introduces a genetically modified healthy version of the gene and offers a new treatment option where none has existed before.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for gene therapy. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for knee and hip replacement have demonstrated expertise in total knee and total hip replacement surgeries. These centers have lower complication rates and fewer hospital readmissions.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for knee and hip replacement. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for maternity care demonstrate expertise and a commitment to quality care for vaginal and cesarean section deliveries. These centers demonstrate lower episiotomies, fewer elective deliveries and lower cesarean births.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for maternity care. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for spine surgery provide comprehensive spine surgery services; including laminectomy/discectomy, fusion and decompression procedures for cervical and lumbar spine. These centers have lower readmission rates and fewer reoperations.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for spine surgery. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers for substance use treatment and recovery aims to improve patient outcomes and value by focusing on providers across the full continuum of care who deliver and facilitate treatment for substance use disorder, including opioid use disorder.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for substance abuse treatment. Review the program selection criteria.
Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ for transplants provide a range of services for heart, lung, liver, kidney and bone marrow/stem cell transplants. These centers meet stringent clinical criteria and demonstrate better overall graft and patient outcomes.
Access the provider directory of Blue Distinction Centers or Blue Distinction Centers+ designated providers for transplants.
If you are a physician or hospital administrator and would like your health care facility to be considered for the Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction/ Centers+ designations, contact your local Blue Cross and Blue Shield company to learn more.
In 2025, the Blue Distinction Center for spine surgery and knee and hip replacement programs will be evaluated based on the documents below:
2025 Knee and Hip Replacement - Designation Materials
2025 Spine Surgery - Designation Materials
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.