2019 Annual Report: Giving Back
Blues Perspectives
| 4 min read
As we celebrated our 80th anniversary in 2019, we stayed true to our mission and commitment of improving health for all Michiganders. Through volunteerism, corporate contributions and a strong social mission we have worked to expand access to health care services, enhance the quality of care patients receive and address major health issues to create a stronger, healthier Michigan.
Our 2019 commitment reached citizens in every corner of the state. Overall, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan invested more than $90 million to support health access, wellness and quality health care. This included $85 million paid to the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, bringing BCBSM’s total payments to the fund to $525 million. Blue Cross has committed $1.56 billion to the Fund over 18 years to support efforts around Michigan that invest in health, protect the vulnerable and subsidize supplemental coverage for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.
- Learn more about our community volunteerism efforts and corporate contributions
- Learn more about social mission programs that support health for everyone in Michigan
- Learn more about BCBSM Foundation grants supporting community health programs and research
Community Responsibility
Efforts to give back go beyond dollars. Blue Cross and BCN employees spent 18,273 hours volunteering at sponsored events and programs and donated over 20,000 food and clothing items through various drives supporting community organizations. Corporate contributions totaled $2.7 million and benefited organizations statewide. Three notable corporate initiatives helped Blue Cross raise awareness and invest in communities.
- Parkinson’s Disease Awareness: In 2019, Blue Cross, the Kirk Gibson Foundation and the Michigan Parkinson’s Foundation joined forces to raise funds and awareness for those living with Parkinson’s disease. Through various initiatives, the partners raised $1.5 million for the two foundations.
- Detroit Neighborhood Partnership: In September 2019, Blue Cross and the City of Detroit announced a partnership supporting the city’s revitalization vision to restore vibrancy in several of its communities, including Detroit’s eastside. Blue Cross organized outreach work with nonprofits and businesses local to the target area and have plans for several more initiatives in the coming year.
- BlueSpace Office Donations: In 2019, Blue Cross transitioned more than 1,000 employees to home and mobile offices, resulting in a surplus of gently used office items. As a result, we donated more than 350 boxes of assorted office items to over 70 statewide community partners over the course of the year.
Social Mission
At Blue Cross, we don’t just want our members to be healthy, we want everyone in Michigan to enjoy good health. In 2019, our efforts increased access to affordable health care, enhanced quality of care patients received and improved the health of Michigan citizens and communities. As part of our social mission, we’re committed to a healthier future for our state. Key program highlights include:
- Building Healthy Communities Celebrates 10 Years: Building Healthy Communities, originally created by Blue Cross in 2009, supports children’s health by providing schools resources to create a healthy school environment. The program has been embraced by more than 800 schools across the state, helping over 395,000 students develop better habits and live healthier lives. In 2019, the program was awarded to 130 Michigan K-12 schools.
- Strengthening the Safety Net Celebrates 15 Years: Our Strengthening the Safety Net program provides grant funding to free clinics that offer free or low-cost medical, dental and mental health care services to uninsured and underinsured Michigan residents, including treatment for substance use disorder. In 2019, 47 clinics received a total of $860,500 in funding. Grant recipients provided care to more than 50,000 patients statewide last year.
Foundation
The BCBSM Foundation, one of Michigan’s largest nonprofit foundations, supports health research and innovative interventions to control health care costs and improve quality of care and access to care for Michigan residents. The foundation relies on partnerships with hospitals, physicians and providers to make investments throughout the state and continues to chart the future health of the state by being a reliable partner to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, philanthropic health organizations and communities across Michigan. In 2019, the Foundation and social mission areas gave more than $1.9 million to address critical health issues.
- Supporting Community Health: Grants were awarded to 37 agencies proposing innovative solutions to address health issues that impact all members of their communities. Notable grants focused on the behavioral health of children and addressing the substance abuse crisis by developing interventions to reduce addiction and support pregnant women seeking recovery.
- Funding Innovative Research: Grants to investigator researchers addressed a wide variety of health issues impacting quality and cost of health care. In 2019, we were proud to award 20 research grants to established, professional researchers at universities and hospitals and cultivate the research talents of 38 students. These grants supported research looking at many health care issues, including the needs of women recovering from breast cancer and the quality of care received by residents requiring cardiac care in the emergency room or whom undergo surgery and will require pain medication.
Read the full 2019 Annual Report.
