Making an Impact

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico (BCBSNM) has a storied history of protecting members and helping them be at their best.

And as a company, we take a broad approach to making a positive impact for our members and the communities where they live, work and play. We're part of these communities, too.

If you volunteer at a school, a food pantry or another community organization, some of our employees in their blue shirts are likely to be working by your side.

And our commitment is bigger than providing financial support to nonprofits and logging service hours, because health insurance and health care are unaffordable for many households.

We want to get at the real causes of these costs by helping make communities healthier.

Many things outside the scope of health care – such as lack of access to food, housing and transportation – play a big role in a person's ability to attain a healthy lifestyle. They may also add to medical costs that place a financial burden on households and businesses.

We're continuing to build our network of community partners to help bridge these gaps, so we can provide peace of mind and empower whole-person health.

Through outreach and community-based programs, we strive to address health issues that are important to New Mexicans, such as:

• Hunger and nutrition
  • We work with food banks across the state to help people experiencing food insecurity. In 2018, we supported the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico in Clovis, Casa de Peregrinos in Las Cruces, The Food Depot in Santa Fe, and The Community Pantry in Gallup with a $44,000 grant to Feeding America.
  • Since 2015, we have given a yearly grant of $60,000 for Roadrunner Food Bank's Childhood and Senior Hunger Initiatives. These innovative programs run mobile food pantries at schools and senior sites to bring nutritious food to families and individuals in their own communities.
• Diabetes, asthma and chronic health conditions
  • As part of our Living365^® program, we have worked with Albertsons Market stores since 2017 to offer Managing Your Diabetes classes led by a local registered dietitian and an in-store pharmacist to help our members control their diabetes and make healthy choices in the supermarket. The program also includes Managing Your Asthma/COPD classes taught by an in-store pharmacist on the causes, symptoms and management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
  • We work with the American Lung Association for the Environmental Improvements for Children's Asthma program, which delivers home assessment services to families with children who have poorly controlled asthma. The in-home visits help identify and resolve triggers that cause asthma flare-ups.
• Housing as health strategy
  • Recognizing the link between health and stable housing, we gave $50,000 to HopeWorks' HopeFound program in 2018 to provide housing assistance and case management for five families with children experiencing homelessness. The program pays for up to six months of rent while preparing families to take over their own rent payments.
• Access to health care
  • We grew our Care Van^® program by adding a second mobile health clinic to expand access to medical screenings and preventive care for underserved communities statewide. In 2018, licensed medical providers in BCBSNM's Care Vans administered more than 6,600 medical services and screenings, about a 65% increase from the previous year.

We also lead with our values in every part of our business. We celebrate and foster diversity and inclusion, for example, because our diverse workforce makes us stronger and helps us meet the needs of our members and communities.

We'll share stories about these efforts here as we put our purpose into action.

Kurt Shipley
President, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico