Blue Cross Georgia - Health Care Reform and Georgia Blue Cross Blue Shield

Health care companies are not sitting idle as changes to health care reform are slowly implemented across the United States. As part of a national overhaul of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Georgia is engaged in a major overhaul of their health care policy.

Political opinions on this subject vary. Some consumers remain frustrated with health care providers, while others continue to oppose government involvement in the insurance market. These points of view were echoed in February’s health care summit, where republicans and democrats more or less agreed to disagree on how the current system could be improved. Yet some points of view are common to both sides—that existing health care sometimes punishes people for being sick, that malpractice coverage needs improved, and that waste and fraud are problems which raise prices for all parties involved.

One month later, health care reform passed. Regardless of our political views, the rules have changed, and now companies like Blue Cross/Blue Shield have no choice but to adapt.

The uninvolved spectator might assume that health care companies will struggle under the new legislation, but insiders at Blue Cross/Blue Shield say otherwise. Two days after the announcement, they announced that they were “well-positioned to navigate the changes this law brings for our members.” Living up to their promise, they broadened their employee base across the board, from high numbers of phone operators to handle inquiries about these changes to policy developers to create plans that satisfy new government requirements while still producing a competitive product.

Georgians have been served by Blue Cross (and eventually Blue Shield) since the 1930s. The company has seen major revisions several times in the past, and the current changes are no exception. They have merged with other companies, adapted to laws, and reacted to changing markets while maintaining a fairly trustworthy brand image.

The new health reform bill will, among other things, increase the number of people who must be covered. Although the process will now experience more federal oversight, the business end still rests on the shoulder of health care companies. Well-established health care companies like Blue Cross / Blue Shield will deal with more clients than ever before, a necessary boost in capital to fund the higher minimums established by the United States government.

Major health care providers have been given four years to comply with the new regulations. By 2014, Blue Cross / Blue Shield will have finished a head-to-toe revision of policy, from its national Blue Cross / Blue Shield brand identity all the way down to the policies its agreements with individual doctors.

The numerous Georgian clients of Blue Cross / Blue Shield will stay well-informed about these changes. To do otherwise would simply be bad business—even the most inattentive customer knows that health care laws have changed, even if they have no idea of how or why. To that end, clients can expect frequent updates about their policies.

Ultimately, we should respect that Blue Cross / Blue Shield is a major corporation that is good enough at what they do to serve millions of clients. They will weather these changes, and if they should happen to fail, there is enough public interest in the subject that major faults will surely be brought to our attention.