2020 Annual Report
Steadfast Support During Extraordinary Times
We stand strong with our members, employer customers, brokers, clinician partners and neighbors, and we have swiftly adapted our business to meet urgent new needs.
- [Music] Today I’m declaring a state of emergency in Massachusetts this declaration will give our administration more flexibility to respond to this evolving outbreak [Music] Thank you for calling Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. More than 90 percent of our company is working remotely now, we've really been focusing on our members making sure they can get the care they need when they need it. [Music] Mental health is a wave of this pandemic [Music] [Music] It's our responsibility to make sure that everybody has an opportunity. [Music] I can definitely help you with that. Racism is a public health issue, a public health emergency. I think we'll look back at this moment as a time when those values really became so visible to the community and to our customers and members.
CEO perspective
“When COVID-19 reached the U.S., we were there, for our members, for our customers, for our clinical partners, for our community. And when our country reckoned with a legacy of systemic racism, we stood with our neighbors, and stood up for change. In 2021, we will continue this vital work.”
B is for Being on Your Side
It was a year defined by a global health crisis, economic challenges and a national awakening to racial inequities. We drew upon our capacity for innovation, our deep clinical and community partnerships, our not-for-profit values and our dedicated employees to maintain the highest levels of service, quality and community assistance.
Ensuring access to care
Our No. 1 commitment amid the pandemic: Making sure our members could get the care they needed when they needed it – including telehealth and COVID-19 testing and treatment – without facing financial or administrative barriers.
Expanding Mental Health Resources
Many of our members faced a “perfect storm” of social isolation, worries about illness, economic uncertainty and the effects of racial inequities. With anxiety, depression and substance abuse on the rise, we expanded our multifaceted approach to mental health and substance use disorder and added more clinicians to our network, no-cost telehealth services and innovative online resources.
Standing strong with our clinician partners
As clinicians worked heroically on the front lines of care, we bolstered our support with advance payments, fewer administrative requirements, expedited credentialing, and a new value-based payment program for independent primary care practices that includes incentives for improved quality and lower costs.
Helping Our Members and
Neighbors Stay Safe and Well
We proudly mobilized our greatest resource – our talented and compassionate employees – on behalf of public health initiatives, while providing financial aid to nonprofits at the heart of our state’s pandemic relief efforts.
Volunteering Time and Expertise
As a Massachusetts-based, not-for-profit health plan, we’ve always provided our employees with the opportunity to volunteer their time, skills and expertise to improve the health of communities where they live and work – and during 2020, many found creative new ways to help others.
2020 facts and figures
For more company information, including our member and financial highlights, diversity, equity and inclusion work and support for the community, view our 2020 Fact Sheet.
Awards
For the fourth year in a row, J.D. Power ranked us #1 in member satisfaction among all commercial health plans in Massachusetts. In 2020, we achieved the highest score for coverage and benefits, provider choice, information and communication, and billing and payment.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has named us one of the highest-rated health plans in the country for quality in their Health Insurance Plan Ratings for 2019-2020*. We are in the top 10 percent of U.S. health plans for quality. NCQA awarded Blue Cross' Commercial HMO/POS plan and Commercial PPO plan a rating of 4.5 out of 5.
We were named one of the 50 most community-minded companies in America by Points of Light. The Civic 50 honors America’s corporate citizenship leaders for their strong commitment to community and social impact.
Our website, Bluecrossma.org, received a platinum award for Best Internet Home Page from eHealthcare Leadership. We were the only health plan to be recognized.
We were ranked seventh in Diversity MBA magazine’s 50 Out Front Companies for Diversity Leadership: Best Places to Work for Women & Diverse Managers. We were also named by Diversity MBA magazine as one of the Top 10 Best in Class companies for recruitment.
For the sixth consecutive year, Blue Cross has received a perfect score of 100% on the 2020 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.
Financial results
Watch this space for our 2020 Audited Financial Reports and 2020 Combined Balance Sheets and Income Statements due to be completed in May.
Executive team
Blue Cross’ senior leaders help shape the company’s strategy in support of our mission to make quality health care affordable and equitable while providing an unparalleled consumer experience.
As of Dec 31, 2020
As of Dec 31, 2020
Board of directors
Blue Cross’ board members bring significant business acumen and leadership capabilities as well as diverse experiences and backgrounds.