Among its successes last year, CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield counts a program to monitor Hispanic diabetics in Washington, better medical records and patient tracking, and an effort to reduce infections at 45 intensive care units.
And lower profits.
Under pressure from lawmakers and regulators, the health insurer launched CareFirst Commitment at the beginning of the year to provide public benefits in line with its mission as a nonprofit. The commitment was pledged after CareFirst failed in its attempt to become a for-profit company in order to sell itself to a California insurer for $1.3 billion.
A year later, "We're pretty proud of what we accomplished," said Jeffery W. Valentine, CareFirst's associate vice president for corporate communication. "We made good on our commitment in year one."
This week, CareFirst will issue a report saying it "made significant strides" in its efforts "in improving the quality of, and access to, health care for the communities we serve."
It also plans a "first anniversary celebration" in Annapolis, where representatives of organizations that have received grants from CareFirst can talk to lawmakers.
Del. Peter A. Hammen, the Baltimore Democrat who chairs the House Health and Government Operations Committee, said yesterday that his committee would be "really vigilant" to make sure CareFirst fulfills its obligations.
"We're going to take a really good look at the report when CareFirst provides it, " he said.
While Hammen is reserving judgment, some critics say CareFirst isn't doing enough.
"The good news is, this is more than they were doing before," said Walter Smith, executive director of D.C. Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, an advocacy group which has been critical of CareFirst. However, he said, "It's less than they can afford to spend." Smiths also remains skeptical of the largest piece of the CareFirst commitment a pledge to hold costs down by reducing its profit goal questioning whether it was designed primarily to sell more insurance policies.
Initially, CareFirst said it would cut its 2005 profit target by $60 million. Then, when Maryland imposed a tax on HMO premiums to subsidize malpractice coverage for doctors, CareFirst, in contrast to its competitors, said it would absorb the tax, saving its Maryland HMO members another $20 million.
Valentine said that absorbing the premium tax was part of CareFirst's effort to make health insurance more affordable.
