Blue Cross is Taking Action to Support Members and Hospitals Amid the Pandemic

Daniel J. Loepp

| 4 min read

Daniel J. Loepp is President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Mr. Loepp has directed sweeping initiatives and innovations that have led to a historic transformation of BCBSM and health care in Michigan. He played a major role in modernizing the state’s health care delivery system in a process that led to enactment of new laws that transformed BCBSM to become a nonprofit mutual insurance company in January 2014. Mr. Loepp has led BCBSM initiatives to improve health care quality and slow cost increases, saving nearly $1.5 billion through several programs that have garnered national attention and served as models implemented across the country. Under his leadership, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is helping to revitalize and strengthen Detroit, Grand Rapids and Lansing. In 2011 and 2012, Blue Cross moved 3,000 BCBSM employees into downtown Detroit and the company is one of the largest employers in the city’s Central Business District. In Lansing, BCBSM subsidiary AF Group transformed a long abandoned power plant into a national headquarters. Mr. Loepp has stood by a commitment that BCBSM should be a driving force for good in Michigan’s core cities. It is reflected in BCBSM’s workforce diversity and inclusion efforts, supplier partnerships and community initiatives. In his tenure, BCBSM has been named Corporation of the Year in Finance and Insurance Services nine times by the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council. The company has also been named one of America’s Top Organizations for Multi-Cultural Business Opportunities by DiversityBusiness.com and ranked five consecutive years as one of the top 10 Regional Companies for diversity by DiversityInc magazine, including being ranked No. 1 for consecutive years in 2015 and 2016. Mr. Loepp was honored as a 2016 recipient of the Edward N. McNamara Goodfellow of the Year Award. He was selected as Michiganian of the Year by The Detroit News in 2013. Mr. Loepp joined Blue Cross in 2000. In 2011, 2012 and 2013, he served as board chair of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), an organization that includes all 36 Blue Cross plans and provides health coverage to more than 106 million Americans.

Detroit Blue Cross tower
As our health professionals are working tirelessly on the front lines to save lives and slow the rate of the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are also working with our providers and customers to enable our members to get the care they need and support hospitals and the dedicated medical personnel working to keep us safe. Protecting members To support our 5.4 million members during this pandemic, we’re taking action to support prevention and treatment of COVID-19. We’re waiving all member copays, deductibles and coinsurance for COVID-19 testing and treatment. We are also increasing access to medications by waiving early refill limits for 30-day maintenance prescriptions and encouraging members to use 90-day mail order benefits. And we’re increasing formulary flexibility to address medication shortage and access concerns. Encouraging telehealth services Because our members are our mission, we’re continually enhancing access to quality care. That’s why we’ve expanded no-cost telehealth medical services to include common behavioral health therapy, because we know that more people are struggling from anxiety, isolation and other mental health conditions during this difficult time. For emotional support, we also have a free crisis hotline available for everyone. Encouraging our members to use telehealth for mild “flu-like” symptoms and expanding the availability of telehealth and online services allows members to get questions answered from the safety of their homes and alleviate the strain on doctors’ offices and emergency departments who are working tirelessly to fight the pandemic. Partnering with providers We also understand the resource and financial strain our hospitals and doctors are facing – from local family physicians to large hospitals. With the largest network of providers in the state, we are working diligently to provide financial support, reduce burdens and keep providers informed and connected. To assist, Blue Cross has accelerated incentive payments to Michigan-based physician organizations and practices to provide immediate financial means to purchase equipment and treat patients with COVID-19, and we are adding flexibility where possible so providers can deal with the crisis on the front lines. We’ve also encouraged Blue Cross medical professionals to heed the governor’s call for volunteers to help address surge capacity needs, and are paying those who choose to do so, their full salary and benefits. Within just 24 hours of this opportunity, I was overwhelmed by 29 of our extraordinary colleagues from our medical team who volunteered to assist even more directly in the fight against COVID-19. And our volunteers continue to raise their hands. Help for individuals losing coverage Across our economy, in businesses large and small, workers are being displaced from their jobs and their health coverage due to the global pandemic. We are mindfully aware of the tenuous financial positions businesses and individuals are facing, and we will continue working with them to ensure people maintain health care coverage throughout this crisis. BCBSM and BCN are helping people continue their individual health coverage or transition from group coverage to an individual plan, potentially qualifying for federal subsidies to lower their premiums. People seeking help from Blue Cross can find it by calling 877-610-2583 or online at www.bcbsm.com/myblue. While we’re continuing our partnerships with large employers and their employees, we’ve also created a special support program for small businesses which may be forced by economic conditions to drop their health insurance coverage or lay off employees. The program is available to small employers and their insurance agents through a toll-free hotline at 866-582-5052 and via email at smallgroupCOVID19@bcbsm.com. Protecting our employees As Michigan’s largest insurer, we are on the side of more than 5 million people who have health insurance with us, and we want them to get the care they need. It’s why we process more 47,000 claims per hour each business day and more than $75 million in benefit claims daily to pay doctors, nurses and supply our hospitals and clinics for the care our members receive. We are essential to connect people with the care to manage and survive this crisis. We’ve taken sweeping measures to do all we can to protect our workforce while maintaining critical operations to keep Michigan’s healthcare system operating. That includes embracing and exceeding state and federal guidelines through daily deep cleaning our buildings, in addition to closing our facilities for five days to sanitize areas where people work. We’ve made changes to keep employees distanced from each other while providing additional flexibility and partnered with UAW to make pandemic benefit changes. Community support As part of our long-standing corporate social mission, we are proud to financially support the efforts of community-based organizations across Michigan that are providing necessary meals to children and assisting seniors and other vulnerable populations. The bottom line is that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are here to protect the health of people across the nation and our Michigan communities. We are a trusted advisor and advocate for population health and are actively responding to support our members, our customers, our providers and our employees. We will continue our work to increase access to quality care. We are all in this together.

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7 Comments

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Blues Perspectives

May 5, 2020 at 2:19pm

Hi Yvonne, We continue to evaluate ways to offer services through telehealth to best serve our members. We recommend you log into Provider Secured Services or access this page and navigate to the telehealth section. From there, refer to the section covering autism services in the Telehealth for Behavioral Health Providers document, which is updated frequently.

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Yvonne

Apr 17, 2020 at 5:34pm

Does this extend to cover ABA services via telehealth? I have multiple blue cross clients who have been denied services. Has this officially been changed?

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Blues Perspectives

Apr 7, 2020 at 12:38pm

We're proud to support, Mark!

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Blues Perspectives

Apr 7, 2020 at 12:33pm

There are so many people and organizations doing their part! - Julie

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Peg Locj

Apr 6, 2020 at 11:19pm

Please automate payments for non Medicare BCBSM retirees. we each receive a huge envelope every month that costs a dollar to mail and then we have to mail back the bottom portion with a paper check.why can't this be automated so that it automatically can be paid from our checking accounts rather than this snail mail process? Thank you

MI Blues Perspectives is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association