Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts   2005 Annual Report

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts:
Collaborator, Convener, and Catalyst

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts is more committed than ever to keeping our corporate promise, "To Always Put Our Members' Health First."

Our comprehensive product portfolio, web-based tools, world-class member service, innovative care management programs, as well as prevention and wellness resources, continue to differentiate us in the marketplace. We continue to partner with brokers and employers to provide affordable coverage options that empower employees to become better consumers of health care. At the close of 2005, we marked our seventh consecutive year of membership growth, even in the face of increased competition from publicly traded health plans. The National Committee for Quality Assurance recognizes us as one of the five best health plans in the nation. Our financial position remains strong and ensures that we have the resources to invest in our future and in the communities we continue to serve.

Despite our many successes, we are neither satisfied nor complacent.

At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, we realize that the care our members receive is only as good as the system that delivers it. The leaders of American medicine have identified a "chasm" between the quality of care patients receive and the care they can and should receive. The facts are well documented. A RAND Corporation study, for example, found that only half of all patients receive the preventive care called for by medical evidence; more than 45 percent of the time patients do not receive recommended care; and 11 percent actually receive contra-indicated care.¹ The Institute of Medicine estimates that as much as 30 percent of the medical care provided is inappropriate, resulting in a health care system that can, at times, jeopardize quality and exacerbate costs.²

Even in Massachusetts, recognized worldwide as a leader in health care delivery and medical advances, the current system does not support the passionate commitment of doctors, nurses, other care givers, and hospitals. That is why we are collaborating with the finest doctors, hospital executives, nurses, community health centers, pharmacists, business and academic leaders, advocates—even our competitors—to transform the health care delivery system.

Collaboration has been the hallmark of our work this past year. More than 3,400 physicians and clinicians are members of the eRx Collaborative which enables them to stop using paper prescription pads and transmit prescriptions electronically. Through the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, which we helped to establish, three communities—North Adams, Newburyport, and Brockton—are poised to implement comprehensive Electronic Medical Records with medical decision support.

These are but the first of many steps we will take in partnership with leaders from across the industry and around the state. We are dedicated to being a collaborator, convener, and catalyst in the effort to transform the health care system. Only when the health care system is transformed will all residents of Massachusetts consistently receive care that is effective, safe, efficient, and affordable. Our efforts are an essential part of how we keep our promise, "To Always Put Our Members' Health First."

Cleve L. Killingsworth
President and CEO

 

 

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