Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield serves the 29 counties of Western Pennsylvania. Highmark Blue Shield serves the 21 counties of Central Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley as a full-service health plan. It also provides services in conjunction with Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania in Northeastern Pennsylvania and Independence Blue Cross in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Highmark serves 4.7 million people through the company's health care benefits business. Highmark administers state and federal insurance programs, such as Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicare. Its subsidiaries include dental, vision, and life and casualty businesses. With nearly 12,000 employees, Highmark serves more than 6 million Pennsylvanians and more the 23 million people nationwide.