Health Care Service Corp., the parent of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, confirmed the health plan operator was cutting 62 jobs as part of a restructuring across the country.

The Chicago-based health insurance company, the nation’s fourth-largest health insurer, operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to strategically assess and align our business with the needs of the marketplace, we made the decision to restructure a few areas of the company,”  said Illinois Blue Cross spokesman Jack Segal.

He did not specify what areas of the company would be affected, but said 38 Illinois Blue Cross employees will lose their positions effective Dec. 31. In addition, 24 employees from Health Care Service facilities in other states “also are affected,” the company said in a statement to the Tribune.

Health Care Service has about 8,500 employees in Illinois out of a total of about 16,200 across the country.