In 2000, Blue Shield of California began the United States' first cross-border health plan. Patients in California could travel to one of the three certified hospitals in Mexico for treatment under California Blue Shield. In 2007, a subsidiary of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Companion Global Healthcare, teamed up with hospitals in Thailand, Singapore, Turkey, Ireland, Costa Rica and India. A 2008 article in "Fast Company" discusses the globalization of healthcare and describes how various players in the US healthcare market have begun to explore it.