Award honors asthma partnership with American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest
Chicago, IL - The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation has named Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, a winner of its inaugural Health Means Business Healthy10 Awards in the Community category. HCSC is being honored for the Enhancing Care for Children with Asthma program, a collaboration with the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest (ALAUM) that is estimated to have reached more than 435,000 individuals through nearly 120 clinic locations across the states where HCSC operates. Results from the first three years of the program demonstrate a more than 50 percent reduction overall in emergency department visits and hospitalization stays for children and adults with asthma who benefitted from the program.
The Health Means Business Healthy10 Awards were created by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a way to honor 10 outstanding business-led initiatives or cross-sector collaborations between local businesses and traditional and non-traditional partners to improve community wellness and access to economic opportunity.
“We are very proud to be honored for our efforts to help people with asthma. By leveraging our aggregated claims data, we are able to identify areas with the high rates of hospitalizations and emergency-related claims for patients with asthma and team up with our American Lung Association partners to directly impact children with asthma, their caregivers, community leaders and educators,” said Bridget Burke, director of public affairs, HCSC. “Collaborations between business and community demonstrate the importance of working together to identify and create sustainable, measurable programs that make a difference.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates asthma affects about 22.6 million Americans, including more than 6.1 million children.2 The Enhancing Care for Children with Asthma program leverages HCSC’s proprietary claims data from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans it operates to identify areas with the highest rate of hospitalizations and emergency-related claims for asthma patients. HCSC then teams up with American Lung Associations in those states to recruit primary care clinics to participate in year-long training cohorts based on National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute guidelines to enhance asthma treatment for children. Participating clinics receive monthly training and mentoring, which directly impacts children with asthma, their caregivers, community leaders and educators.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation announced the winners of the Healthy10 Awards at the Health Means Business National Summit at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 16, 2017.
Learn more about the awards program.
About Health Care Services Corporation
Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) is ealth the the largest customer-owned insurance company in the United States. HCSC offers a wide variety of health and life insurance products and related services through its operating divisions and subsidiaries, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas and Dearborn National. The company employs more than 23,000 people and serves more than 16 million members. For more information, please visit hcsc.com, visit our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.
About The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest
The American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest is comprised of Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Our mission is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. Our staff, leadership boards and volunteers are dedicated to "Fighting for Air" through research, education and advocacy, which we're able to fund through special event fundraising, grants and the generosity of our donors. For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit Lung.org.
About The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation is dedicated to strengthening America’s long-term competitiveness. We educate the public on the conditions necessary for business and communities to thrive, how business positively impacts communities, and emerging issues and creative solutions that will shape the future. The U.S .Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.