2023 BCBSM Annual Report: Evolving to Meet the Needs of Those We Serve Now & Into the Future
Blues Perspectives
| 5 min read
For 85 years, our mission-focused efforts to deliver high-value, affordable health care to our members – wherever they are, whenever they need it – have not changed. But the way we fulfill our mission has evolved as we continuously adapt to the new and emerging needs of those we serve. We are ready to help with a purpose – to remain a trusted partner to our members, providers, communities and customers. That requires adaptability, growth and change.
To ensure we can meet the needs of Michiganders for decades to come, Blue Cross has greatly diversified our business over the past two decades. As a taxpaying, nonprofit mutual insurer, our ability to diversify into other lines of profitable business ventures allows us to offset the impact of ever-growing health care costs on our members’ health insurance premiums and administrative fees.
Today, the BCBSM enterprise includes companies providing specialty benefits, accident and hospital recovery insurance, critical illness insurance, final expense and term life insurance, as well as long-term care insurance. Our family of companies also includes a health care technology company that offers claims processing, customer service and provider data management, as well as a nationally recognized company whose affiliated brands provide specialty and workers’ compensation insurance solutions across the U.S.
In 2023, we finalized an affiliation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont – bringing that leading health plan into our enterprise family of companies. Our partnership with the Vermont plan allows us to share information technology, expertise and operational resources to reduce the cost of future investments. It’s the next step in our company’s ongoing evolution and builds a path for future collaborations in the years ahead.
By expanding our business interests beyond health insurance, we are better positioned to manage the unexpected: whether it’s turbulence in the economy, changes in regulatory policies or the unprecedented – like the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, our broad business portfolio allowed us to quickly mobilize to help health care providers: advancing payments to doctors and hospitals to fund innovative, life-saving solutions when they were needed most.
We’re also better positioned to invest in our core health plans – funding innovative solutions to remove barriers for our members to access health care, like digital tools and virtual care solutions.
During these times of rapid change, we’ve maintained a position of strength and stability. Expanding our enterprise to businesses outside of health insurance has allowed us to moderate premiums for members and keep costs predictable for our customers.
We are deeply committed to the people of Michigan, and all the people we serve throughout the nation. We’re ready to help strengthen and evolve that commitment to meet the needs of our members, customers, providers and communities over the next 85 years.
At Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, our members guide us and inspire us — they are the reason our company exists. Providing the very best experiences adds to our legacy as a trusted health insurance brand and health care partner that provides access to high-quality, affordable and appropriate care wherever and whenever it’s needed. That continued in 2023, even as our industry experienced unprecedented change.
From my perspective as chairman, this company thrives because we never lose focus of our historic commitment: making affordable, high-quality health care accessible to everyone in Michigan and improving the health of the people of our state. We aspire to be clear and simple on a personal level — to offer valuable coverage, help members make the right choices, and help them get quality health care for themselves and those they love.
The affiliation between our two well-established health plans was driven by a shared vision to enhance the health and well-being of our members and communities. By joining forces, we have opened the doors to countless opportunities to further share information technology, expertise and operational resources. By doing so, we intend to reduce the cost of future investments.
From advancements in precision medicine to an increased focus on supporting family health to more convenient avenues of accessing care, we are developing and deploying innovative solutions that work together to meet our members biggest concerns. BCBSM has continued to evolve our model of care and we are proud to have developed relationships with providers and other partners that leverage market-leading solutions that improve the experience our members have with systems of care.
Through longstanding collaborations with those who provide care, we work together to improve care quality, lower health care costs and create a better experience for members and providers. These collaborations are some of the largest nationally in size and scope. 2023 marked a continuation of our evolving approach to value-based payment models as the health care market changes.
As a leader in whole-person health care we have long-recognized the interconnectedness of these factors and its role in advancing health equity for all Michiganders. We have evolved over the years to develop new programs, implement training and forge relationships with various stakeholders to meet these diverse and complex needs. 2023 was no exception.
2023 Financial Results
Continued strong performance by our non-health insurance subsidiaries in 2023 and diverse investment portfolio helped Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan remain in a strong position to moderate pricing in health insurance, despite experiencing over $3 billion in increased medical and pharmacy claims costs in 2023.
Photo credit: BCBSM and Getty Images
