Blue Cross/Blue Shield Of Illinois Hopes To Increase Access To Coverage

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) has launched education and outreach efforts aimed at removing barriers to health insurance enrollment in advance of the November 1^st opening of the Individual Insurance Marketplace.

"In our state, nearly 900 thousand people are uninsured, yet more than 63 percent of them qualify for financial assistance," said Steve Hamman, president of BCBSIL. "We have an opportunity to educate and to help people get health coverage, whether or not it's with Blue Cross. We want more people in our communities to have the peace of mind that comes with having quality, affordable health care."

Statewide, BCBSIL is launching Be Covered, a community-based campaign designed to help uninsured and underinsured populations understand the many benefits of enrollment, identify their subsidy eligibility options, and empower them to make informed, sound, healthcare decisions.

BCBSIL established BeCovered.org which provides a wide range of information about health insurance, wellness and how to enroll. The site features user-friendly, bilingual content, such as fact sheets and toolkits to help consumers understand their insurance options and what they need to do to prepare for the next enrollment period.

For more information on Be Covered, visit BeCovered.org.  To receive alerts from the Be Covered campaign, text 33633*¹ with the word BECOVERED for English updates or UNIR for Spanish updates.

BCBSIL is also hosting Community Care Fair events to bring together open enrollment information and support, free immunizations, and other resources aimed at helping improve community health. The events will include no-cost immunizations, health screenings, family activities, healthy food giveaways, and more. An early event was held October 5, 2019 in Kankakee. Two additional events will take place:

• Saturday, November 2, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Second First Church, 318 N. Church Street in Rockford; and,
• Saturday, November 23, 2019 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Christ Universal Temple, 11901 S. Ashland Ave. in Chicago.

¹Message and data rates may apply.