Blue Solutions—Empowering the Workforce

The rising cost of health care continues to exert financial pressure on businesses. Companies need lower-cost alternatives for their employees – even as employees look to save money and maintain full coverage. What is Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts doing to help employers and their employees become better consumers of health care?

Blue Solutions
Anna Utech and L.J. Taylor, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts members and Equal Exchange employees, use our web tools to learn about health care options and make healthy choices.

The relentless pressure of health care costs on companies of all sizes in Massachusetts poses a real challenge. Something must be done—and something is being done.

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, we have developed Blue Solutions, a comprehensive product portfolio designed to support members at every stage of life. We offer a wide range of products including traditional managed care plans, as well as high-deductible consumer-directed products supported by savings vehicles such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). More than 20 percent of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts associates elected one of our consumer-directed products for their own families.

To help consumers play an active role in managing their health, we have developed easy-to-use tools. Our award-winning web-based tools empower members to select the plan that best suits their needs. The Coverage AdvisorTM helps consumers compare costs and choose the right plan for them. In 2005, more than 60,000 seniors and their families visited our For Seniors website to learn about the new Medicare prescription program and the array of our new Senior product options. Once enrolled in a plan, our members can rely on the Select Quality Care® site to help them identify the hospitals that best meet their personal needs for particular procedures.

We offer prevention and wellness programs online as well as right in the workplace. MyBlueHealth and Blue Ribbon Personal Edge educate members about their choices in terms of nutrition, exercise, stress management, consumerism, and more. With more than 40 percent of all premature deaths directly related to lifestyle choices, we work hard to help members change behaviors so they live longer, healthier lives.3

Blue Care Account Cards Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts membership and Blue Care® Account cards provide access to comprehensive health care coverage and financing.

 

Blue Solutions for employers includes:

 

"Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts provides the full range of options for businesses, from traditional managed care plans to the most cutting-edge products, which allow employees to select the options that best suit them. And, they provide the informational tools needed for members to make the most informed decisions."

—Don Mullen, Managing Director/Director of Benefits, Putnam Investments

 

3 J. Michael McGinnis, Pamela Williams-Russo, James R. Kickman, "The Case for More Active Policy Attention to Health Promotion." Health Affairs, 21, no. 2 (March/April 2002): 78-93.

 

Read further about our collaborative efforts…