Leading in Local Communities, for the Health of America

By Scott P. Serota, President and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Over the past months, the COVID-19 pandemic has swiftly reached into our communities and posed immediate and substantial changes to how we do our work, how we care for our families and how we manage our own individual health. COVID-19’s effects have varied widely across the country and Blue Cross Blue Shield companies (BCBS companies) have delivered support uniquely tailored to each region—especially those that have been hit hardest by the pandemic. As we continue to meet the needs of today, BCBS companies are also focused on tomorrow and on leading our nation to a better health care future.

Standing with our members, healthcare workers and communities during difficult times is not only a hallmark of BCBS companies, it’s deeply embedded in our DNA. When BCBS companies were established in 1929, it was during a similar time of crisis in our country. The stock market crash had left the economic security of many in question when Justin Ford Kimball developed a plan to increase access to health services and provide local Dallas-area hospitals with the periodic payments they needed to stay afloat.

Today—over 90 years later—the Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® symbols provide the same reassurance and hope to Americans as BCBS companies have continued Kimball’s leadership, practicing the same ingenuity to forge vital connections between individuals and healthcare in local communities.

Recently, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) announced that the 36 independent BCBS companies and BCBSA’s Federal Employee Program committed nearly $3 billion to support members, healthcare workers and local communities in the ongoing fight against COVID-19. The magnitude of this commitment reflects not only the shared values of BCBS companies, but the close community ties they’ve each built across the country.

• For our members, BCBS companies widely expanded coverage for and access to telehealth while simultaneously equipping providers with the guidance they needed to deliver care virtually—some for the first time.

• For those on the front lines working directly with individuals requiring treatment for COVID-19, BCBS companies made significant donations to secure and distribute personal protective equipment to clinics and healthcare workers suffering from shortages.

• Within our communities, BCBS companies have worked closely with local food banks and delivery services to ensure the citizens in their regions still had access to meals—in some instances even offering up their own company kitchens for food preparation—and paving a path to other resources like housing and transportation.

All of these efforts have strengthened our bonds with local organizations and fortified the commitment we’ve made to the one in three Americans we serve. BCBS companies will continue to partner with others—public health officials, local businesses and community organizations—as our country’s attention shifts to rebooting local economies safely and effectively.

Several BCBS companies are already co-leading task forces with local and state government officials to support a national testing infrastructure and contact tracing efforts. BCBS companies are also working closely with providers, examining how we can work together to support them as they care for patients, facilitate a smooth return to non-urgent care delivery and ensure individuals can receive care they may have delayed during the pandemic.

As we lead through this unprecedented situation, the time to look to the future is now. I think about this daily, not just as the leader of BCBSA, but as a grandfather to seven grandchildren. I’m committed to ensuring the next generation grows up in a country that is not only prepared for the next pandemic, but able to prevent it from happening on this scale ever again. BCBS companies will be there, working with partners at the local, state and federal levels, to build a better healthcare future…for the Health of America.

Scott P. Serota is president and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans.

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