When I came to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts 15 years ago, I took on what was essentially a business challenge to bring discipline, financial stability, and service excellence to the company on behalf of its customers. Since then, it has been terrific to see the changes that have taken place. Through these years, we focused on meeting higher and higher standards of performance and overcame some significant hurdles. For me, it has been an intense, challenging and rewarding personal journey.
Our results for 2004 demonstrate, once again, that we have accomplished what we set out to do. Member satisfaction is at 90 percent, and provider satisfaction stands at 92 percent. Membership has grown to 2.7 million people, and we manage a reliable level of financial reserves that meets the responsibility we have for ensuring their health care coverage.
We have also been able to renew the company's relationship with the community. Just one example of this is our endowment of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. During 2004, the Foundation provided $3.5 million in grants to help expand health care access to uninsured and low-income residents of the Commonwealth.
In 2004, we also took a significant step to improve the state's health care system. With our pledge of $50 million, an independent, statewide coalition of insurers, providers, advocates, and state government was created to design and implement statewide electronic medical records and clinical decision support.
In fact, as we look ahead, we believe the next set of challenges is about transforming the performance of the health care system and improving the delivery of care.
Within this Annual Report, you will meet some of the people in our company who are stepping up to some of these new challenges. But this is just a start. The issues for all of us in health care are big and complex, requiring fresh leadership.
At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Cleve Killingsworth will be leading our company as President and Chief Executive Officer. His background, energy, interest and passion in health care make him the right person to carry forward a new agenda for our organization and the health care community.
William C. Van Faasen
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer