Blue Cross of California Extends New Health Insurance Program to Native Americans Across the State.Business Editors & Health Writers THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--July 24, 2001 Blue Cross of California today announced a new health-care program for Native Americans. Available to all 103 federally recognized tribes Federally recognized tribes are those Indian tribes recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs for certain federal government purposes. Description In the United States, the Indian tribe is a fundamental unit, and the constitution grants to the U.S. throughout California (approximately 50,000 members), this program provides affordable access to Blue Cross coverage including office visits, prescription benefits, hospitalization and other services. The new program offers a selection of two popular Blue Cross small group plans, the Preferred Provider Organization pre·ferred provider organization n. Abbr. PPO A medical insurance plan in which members receive more coverage if they choose health care providers approved by or affiliated with the plan. (PPO PPO abbr. preferred provider organization PPO Managed care Preferred provider organization, see there Infectious disease Pleuropneumonia-like organism, see there ) $30 Co-pay Plan or the PPO $40 Co-pay Plan. Both plans offer relatively low deductibles and out-of-pocket fees for office visits and prescription drugs. Value-added programs such as HealthyExtensions, MedCall and Baby Connection are also included. "Blue Cross small group services is very excited to be launching this special program," said Deborah Lachman, senior vice president, small group services, Blue Cross of California. "We look forward to working with all eligible Native American tribes across California to promote good health by offering members access to our extensive network of participating physicians, hospitals and other health-care professionals." "As Native Americans become more economically self-sufficient, they have sought to purchase health insurance with their own funds from private health plans," said Assemblywoman Helen Thomson, who sponsored last year's legislation that allows tribes to purchase private health insurance. "I applaud Blue Cross for its effort in reaching out to a population that has historically had difficulty buying health insurance." The new program is available only to federally recognized California Indian tribes whose names are published in the Federal Register. The governing body of each tribe acts as the administrator for its tribal members, selecting a health plan of choice and contributing 100 percent of the eligible tribal members' and eligible dependents' medical premiums. For more information about enrollment in the Blue Cross of California program for Native Americans, call 866/255-4970 or contact a local Blue Cross agent. Blue Cross of California and its California affiliates, with 5.6 million medical members in the state, is an operating subsidiary of WellPoint Health Networks Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :WLP WLP WebLogic Portal (Bea Systems) WLP Wafer Level Packaging WLP Women's Learning Partnership (Bethesda, MD) WLP Workplace Learning & Performance WLP World Library Partnership, Inc. ), one of the nation's largest publicly traded health-care companies. WellPoint serves the health- care needs of nearly 9.8 million medical and more than 40 million specialty members nationally. WellPoint offers a broad spectrum of quality network-based health products, including open access PPO, POS (1) See point of sale and packet over SONET. (2) "Parent over shoulder." See digispeak. POS - point of sale and hybrid products, HMO HMO health maintenance organization. HMO n. A corporation that is financed by insurance premiums and has member physicians and professional staff who provide curative and preventive medicine within certain financial, and specialty products. Specialty products include pharmacy benefit management A Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) is a third party administrator of prescription drug programs. They are primarily responsible for processing and paying prescription drug claims. , dental, utilization management, vision, mental health, life and disability insurance, long-term-care insurance, flexible spending accounts flexible spending account, n an employee reimbursement account primarily funded with employee-designated salary reductions. Funds are reimbursed to the employee for health care (medical and/or dental), dependent care, and/or legal expenses and are , COBRA administration and Medicare supplements. |
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