[1] Its history, however, dates back to 1938 when the Manitoba Hospital Services Association (a non-profit, hospital-sponsored association and the first organization to operate as Manitoba Blue Cross) began offering hospital benefits on a prepaid basis.

[2][better source needed] Manitoba Blue Cross, with its subsidiary Blue Cross Life, provides health, dental, employee assistance, life, disability and travel coverage for over half a million Manitobans.

[3] In 2018, it was named a 2018 Manitoba Top Employer by MediaCorp Canada.

[4] Manitoba Blue Cross is the primary contributor of funding and administrative support for the Manitoba Medical Services Foundation (MMSF), a foundation which supports scientific research that advances and maintains the health and welfare of Manitoba residents.

[5] Manitoba Blue Cross also supports the Children's Wish Foundation,[6] providing free travel coverage to Manitoba children and their families any time a travel wish is granted.