Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma Aims to Decrease Number of Uninsured Americans Through Be Covered Campaign

TULSA, Okla., Nov. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma (BCBSOK) announced today a multi-state education and outreach campaign aimed at decreasing the number of uninsured and underinsured Americans. Be Covered is a community-based education effort to help people understand the benefits of insurance, identify their options and empower them to make informed, sound health care decisions for themselves and their families.

"Nearly 550,000 people are uninsured in our state, making Oklahoma the second highest uninsured population in the nation," said Joseph R. Cunningham, M.D., president of BCBSOK. "Through Be Covered, we have an opportunity to educate Oklahomans on the importance of having health insurance coverage. We want everyone in our communities to have the peace of mind that comes with having quality, affordable health care coverage, year-round."

The Be Covered campaign works with diverse and trusted community partners, such as civic associations, schools, places of worship and community leaders, to provide educational materials and other bilingual resources to help uninsured communities navigate the process of enrollment.

As part of the campaign, BCBSOK will also be holding three Be Covered health and wellness fairs, in partnership with community organizations, to engage Oklahomans about the importance health insurance coverage and information on enrollment.

• OKC Festival de Salud at the Pete White Health and Wellness Center
  November 9 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
  4021 S Walker Avenue
  Oklahoma City, OK 73109
  
  
• Norman YMCA
  November 19 from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
  1350 Lexington Avenue
  Norman, OK 73069
  
  
• The Station at Central Park
  December 14 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  700 S. Broadway Avenue
  Moore, OK 73160

BCBSOK is also holding several enrollment events across the state with their Mobile Assistance Center (MAC), which travels to metro, tribal, and rural areas to give one-on-one assistance to Oklahomans. The MAC can provide information on a variety of topics including health insurance coverage education, health insurance marketplace assistance and financial assistance eligibility.

Along with hosting community events throughout the open enrollment period, BCBSOK established BeCovered.org/OK which provides a wide range of information about health insurance, wellness and how to enroll. The site features user-friendly, bilingual content, such as fact sheets and toolkits to help consumers understand their insurance options and what they need to do to prepare for the next enrollment period.

For more information on Be Covered, visit BeCovered.org/OK. To receive alerts from the Be Covered campaign, text 33633*¹ with the word BECOVEREDOK for English updates or UNIROK for Spanish updates.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma

For more than 79- years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma has been committed to meeting the health care financing needs of Oklahomans. As the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma provides health care benefit plans for more than 825,000 Oklahomans. For more information, visit bcbsok.com. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma is a Division of Health Care Service Corporation (which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Texas, Illinois, Oklahoma, Montana and New Mexico), 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.

¹ Message and data rates may apply.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma