BLUE CROSS AND BLUE SHIELD OF TEXAS TEAMS-UP WITH PILGRIM’S PRIDE AND THE TEXAS PHARMACY ASSOCIATION TO LAUNCH PILOT PROGRAM, WITH FREE DIABETES MEDICATIONS/COACHING

Collaborating with A Unique Team in NE Texas, Blue Cross Promotes Patient Empowerment To Control A Chronic Disease, Affecting 1.5 million Texans

(Oct. 22, 2007), Richardson, Texas – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) kicked-off a unique pilot project today to promote diabetes health in collaboration with Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, which is one of the largest employers in East Texas, and the Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA). With the launch of the Mount Pleasant Project, this team will work together to help manage the effects of this growing disease, which costs $11.4 billion annually to treat in Texas.

“This exciting pilot project has been in the planning stages for nearly a year and is based on a successful model that relied on the cooperation of multiple stakeholders – patients, physicians, pharmacists, employers and payers,” says Dr. Tom Tran, senior director of Pharmacy, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. “Our collaboration with Pilgrim’s Pride and TPA is the first of its kind in Texas and we anticipate that the results will show improved medication adherence, improved patient skills and overall self-care knowledge, plus cost savings for the employer as well as employees.”

The Mount Pleasant Project is designed to help improve diabetes management for local employees of Pilgrim’s Pride, who will be able to receive free medications, screenings and diet management training from their local pharmacies.

“At Pilgrim’s Pride, one of our top priorities is the health and wellness of all of our Partners,” said Jane Brookshire, executive vice president of human resources. “We are delighted to support this pilot program, which will provide free medications and other benefits to our employees in the Mount Pleasant and Pittsburg, Texas, areas. We encourage all of our Partners to take personal responsibility for the management of their health, and this program will be a great resource to help them live healthier, happier lives.”

“We’re trying to advance the quality of health care by bringing pharmacists and patients closer together to improve personal wellness management,” says pharmacist Kim Roberson, TPA’s director of Professional Affairs. “When employers, insurers and providers team up to work with patients like this, everyone benefits.”

The program began in late September, when BCBSTX and TPA started a training program for selected local East Texas pharmacists. The goal of the initiative is to engage Blue Cross members who struggle to manage diabetes by promoting education, physical activity and healthy living as part of their daily routines to a reduce the likelihood of serious future health problems.

This community-based collaboration is modeled after the highly publicized Asheville Project in North Carolina, a successful, ongoing diabetes management program that 10 years ago, introduced the idea that pharmacist coaches can have a measurable impact on overall health care.

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 3.4 million members in all 254 counties. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC), the country’s largest non-investor-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. HCSC is a mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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