CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield Expands Business to Enter the Group Medicare Advantage Market
Plans are available to employers in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia
Baltimore, Md./Washington, D.C – Today, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst), a not-for-profit and the largest healthcare company in the mid-Atlantic region, announced it will enter the Group Medicare Advantage (MA) market on January 1, 2022. To provide individuals with quality care at every stage and circumstance of life, the health insurer will offer a preferred provider organization (PPO) plan with prescription drug coverage to select Maryland and Washington, D.C. based large group employers (those with 51 or more full-time employees). In addition, through an alliance with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, CareFirst will also enter Northern Virginia in January 2022. This new product follows the organization’s successful entry into the individual MA market in January 2021.
“Part of CareFirst’s mission is to transform healthcare to be more affordable and accessible by optimizing and growing our existing businesses,” said David J. Corkum, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of CareFirst. “This includes expanding our reach into the Medicare Advantage market. We have already experienced significant success and interest from employer groups and are proud to begin the new year serving these retirees. By entering the Group MA space, we can build value-driven, innovative relationships with our provider networks and focus on all aspects of individual health while meeting the needs of our members.”
By offering Group MA plans, CareFirst can further address the quality, accessibility and cost of care for our members, specifically retirees, to continue exceptional care past employment. The CareFirst Group MA plan offers many advantages to employers and retirees including, but not limited to:
-
Provides flexibility to maintain consistent retiree coverage to their current coverage.
-
Brings more value with added plan benefits geared towards the senior population like fitness, telehealth, a 24/7 nurse hotline, in-home assessments and more.
-
Includes all Original Medicare covered preventive services (cancer screenings, diabetes screening, flu shots, mammograms, obesity screenings and counseling, pneumococcal shots and more) at no cost to the retiree.
-
Covers all Original Medicare covered services (e.g., inpatient hospital, specialists, labs, tests, rehabilitation services, dialysis and more) at no to low cost-sharing for members.
“CareFirst has been the trusted health plan for millions of people for over 80 years,” said Wanda Oneferu-Bey, Executive Vice President of Government Programs at CareFirst. “Providing tailored, well-rounded insurance plans to local employers is familiar territory for CareFirst. That is why we are proud to offer Group MA plans for employers. We look forward to being a trusted partner by transitioning current retirees and welcoming new retirees to the CareFirst family of Medicare Advantage plans.”
Members in a CareFirst Group MA plan can use in-network or out-of-network care providers for, in most cases, the same copay or coinsurance, if the providers accept the plan and have not opted out of or been excluded or precluded from Medicare.
About CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
In its 84th year of service, CareFirst, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit healthcare company which, through its affiliates and subsidiaries, offers a comprehensive portfolio of health insurance products and administrative services to 3.5 million individuals and employers in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Northern Virginia. In 2020, CareFirst invested $27.8 million to improve overall health, and increase the accessibility, affordability, safety and quality of healthcare throughout its market areas. To learn more about CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, visit our website at www.carefirst.com and our transforming healthcare page at www.carefirst.com/transformation, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of: In Colorado: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. HMO products underwritten by HMO Colorado, Inc. In Connecticut: Anthem Health Plans, Inc. In Georgia: Blue Cross Blue Shield Healthcare Plan of Georgia, Inc. In Indiana: Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. In Kentucky: Anthem Health Plans of Kentucky, Inc. In Maine: Anthem Health Plans of Maine, Inc. In Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area): RightCHOICE® Managed Care, Inc. (RIT), Healthy Alliance® Life Insurance Company (HALIC), and HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates administer non-HMO benefits underwritten by HALIC and HMO benefits underwritten by HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates only provide administrative services for self-funded plans and do not underwrite benefits. In Nevada: Rocky Mountain Hospital and Medical Service, Inc. HMO products underwritten by HMO Colorado, Inc., dba HMO Nevada. In New Hampshire: Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. HMO plans are administered by Anthem Health Plans of New Hampshire, Inc. and underwritten by Matthew Thornton Health Plan, Inc. In Ohio: Community Insurance Company. In Virginia: Anthem Health Plans of Virginia, Inc. trades as Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia, and its service area is all of Virginia except for the City of Fairfax, the Town of Vienna, and the area east of State Route 123. In Wisconsin: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wisconsin (BCBSWI), underwrites or administers PPO and indemnity policies and underwrites the out of network benefits in POS policies offered by Compcare Health Services Insurance Corporation (Compcare) or Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Corporation (WCIC). Compcare underwrites or administers HMO or POS policies; WCIC underwrites or administers Well Priority HMO or POS policies. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.