Be Covered Texas Celebrates One Year Anniversary

RICHARDSON, Texas, March 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Be Covered Texas, a statewide education and outreach campaign designed to engage, educate and enroll the uninsured, celebrates its one-year anniversary this month. Since its launch in March 2013, Be Covered Texas has reached more than 2.8 million Texans through its partner network of more than 150 community groups, including civic organizations, schools, health and wellness groups, educational groups, physician organizations or clinics, and religious institutions.

Sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, the campaign has spent the last year providing information and resources in both English and Spanish to Texas' more than 6 million uninsured residents. Through its community partnerships, Be Covered Texas reaches people where they live, work, learn, worship, text and tweet to raise awareness about their options under the Affordable Care Act.

"We are so grateful for our dedicated community partners who have been an integral part of our successful outreach efforts this past year," said Michelle Riddell, Chair of the Be Covered Texas campaign and Vice President of Community Investment for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. "Be Covered Texas is committed to providing educational resources to the uninsured across Texas who now have the ability to purchase health insurance through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace."

With one week remaining in the 2014 Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment period, Be Covered Texas is participating in Countdown to Coverage, a campaign to raise awareness about the March 31 deadline and the importance of health insurance and to answer questions about coverage options and the enrollment process. Through outreach with its more than 150 community partner organizations, Be Covered Texas hopes to reach Texans across the state with educational information before the open enrollment period ends.

"Through our work with Be Covered Texas, the Asian American Health Coalition (AAHC) HOPE Clinic has been able to reach so many who have had questions about the health insurance and financial assistance options available to them, and how health insurance will help their families," said Shane Chen, Chief Operating Officer of the AAHC HOPE Clinic.

"We joined Be Covered Texas last March because Parents Step Ahead|Padres Un Paso Adelante saw a need within our community for reliable, trustworthy educational information about the health care law and what resources are available," said Tuccoa Polk, Director of Programs, Parents Step Ahead. "We're working to spread the word about the March 31st enrollment deadline."

Be Covered is engaging with Texans through a variety of channels, including social media. Be Covered Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages feature health tips and community activities to help build consumer awareness of health issues and benefits options. Be Covered is engaging with Texans through Thunderclap, a social media platform that allows for widespread distribution of advocacy messages. Consumers joined the Thunderclap campaign by agreeing to dedicate their Twitter and Facebook status updates to a one-time message of awareness that was simultaneously distributed. When the Thunderclap launched on March 24, more than 1.5 million friends and followers saw a message encouraging awareness and enrollment from trusted friends and organizations.

In Dallas, Be Covered Texas is partnering with the City of Dallas and Dallas County as part of the Enroll Dallas coalition to create and distribute more than 650 yard and street signs encouraging enrollment in the 2014 Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment period. The signs display a special call to action for Dallas residents to enroll before March 31 and are posted on city streets, libraries, sidewalks, parks and City-owned properties.

For Be Covered Texas Educational Information/Literature:
Be Covered Texas also has a bilingual website, www.becoveredtexas.org, downloadable materials and toll-free hotline 1-866-427-7492. Consumers can call this toll-free number Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CDT for more information about requirements of the new federal health care law.

About Be Covered Texas
Be Covered Texas is a campaign focused on helping uninsured Texans understand how the new health care law impacts them and what steps they need to take to gain access to individual health insurance. The campaign will work with community partners to provide user-friendly information and on-the-ground guidance with the ultimate goal of helping Texans Be Covered. The campaign is fully funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.

www.becoveredtexas.org | twitter.com/becovered | facebook.com/becovered.org

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX) – the only statewide, customer-owned health insurer in Texas – is the largest provider of health benefits in the state, working with nearly 80,000 physicians and 500 hospitals to serve 4.8 million members in all 254 counties. BCBSTX is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Montana), the country's largest customer-owned health insurer and fourth largest health insurer overall. Health Care Service Corporation is a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

BCBSTX.com | Twitter.com/BCBSTX | Facebook.com/BlueCrossBlueShieldOfTexas | YouTube

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130425/DA02213LOGO

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130627/DA39756LOGO

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas