FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      
Contact:  
Margaret Jarvis
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
972-766-7165
or margaret_jarvis@bcbstx.com

BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF TEXAS ANNOUNCES PRODUCT
TARGETING SPECIFIC SEGMENT OF UNINSURED POPULATION

    January 17, 2006 - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) today announced a new health insurance product available in the coming months that targets one of the least understood segments of the uninsured - those with incomes of $50,000 or above. Working in collaboration with the Houston Uninsured Task Force, which included at-large Houston City Council Member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, M.D., and University of Houston Clear Lake professor Dianne Love, BCBSTX designed an inpatient hospital plan called Foundation Hospital Care to cover catastrophic events.

    "Research indicates most uninsured individuals with incomes of $50,000 or above are not in search of products that cover basic health care needs - which they are comfortable paying for out-of-pocket - but they are seeking coverage for catastrophic events that would require inpatient hospital care," said Darren Rodgers, who served on the Task Force and is BCBSTX's senior vice president for Health Care Management. "This product directly addresses that desire by providing a plan specifically designed for their needs - without other coverages that would add cost but not value in their eyes."
   
   The diverse composition of the Uninsured Task Force provided an opportunity to bring together the perspectives of various stakeholders concerned with solving one of the state's most serious health-related problems - a rate of uninsured that is the highest in the United States.

    "It's a great way to expand health insurance products, giving Texans more choice when buying health insurance," said Houston City Council Member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, M.D.

    "The University of Houston Clear Lake Healthcare Administration program will be conducting research to determine the impact of this new product on the access to health care for the middle-class uninsured, which is the fastest growing segment of the uninsured," said University of Houston Clear Lake professor Dianne Love. "The results of this research could have significant policy implications."

    Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas - the only statewide, non-investor-owned health insurer in Texas - is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 40,000 physicians and 400 hospitals to serve more than 3.2 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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