BCBSOK new Web site

BC-BCBSOK-new-Web-site

To: TECHNOLOGY EDITORS

Contact: Nicole Amend of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma,

+1-918-551-3339

TULSA, Okla., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Because Blue Cross and

Blue Shield of Oklahoma recognizes that health insurance is becoming more and

more complicated, the state's largest health insurer has redesigned its public

Web site to better assist and educate customers as well as the general public.

Now live, the new site provides an education that enables wise health care

decisions, communicates a commitment to partnership with Blue Cross and Blue

Shield of Oklahoma customers and emphasizes the insurer's trustworthiness.

"One of the main goals for our Web site is to provide educational content

to our members and the public," said Jeff Tikkanen, vice president of

marketing and sales, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma. "We use casual

language rather than complex insurance terms so that members can better

understand and feel more comfortable with the issues related to their health."

In addition to helping members find a doctor or select the plan that suits

them best, the Web site offers a "Getting Started" section that takes users

through the basics of health insurance including the following:

-- Understanding Health Insurance

-- Understanding Medicare

-- How to Shop for Health Insurance

-- Plans for Different People (Identifying a User's stage-of-life and

needs)

-- Making Insurance Work for You

And because Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is committed to

wellness, the site offers a "Health and Wellness" section with information on

coping with illness, preventive care, exercise, diet and nutrition, mental

health and more.

"We tested this site extensively with our own members and other health

care consumers," added Tikkanen. "More than 90 percent of users navigated the

site with ease and trusted the information they received."

Go to http://www.bcbsok.com, browse the Web site and click on "Feedback" to share

your thoughts of the new site.

Throughout its nearly 70-year history, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of

Oklahoma has been committed to meeting the health care financing needs of

Oklahomans. As the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, Blue

Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma provides health care benefit plans for more

than 600,000 Oklahomans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a division

of Health Care Service Corporation, which also operates Blue Cross and Blue

Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico and Texas. Health Care Service

Corporation is a mutual legal reserve company and an independent licensee of

the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a Division of Health Care

Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee

of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma

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