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More Than 30 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Employees Volunteer for Front-Line Work to Assist in Treating COVID-19 Patients
Meghan O'Brien
| 2 min read
DETROIT, April 9, 2020 — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are supporting medically-qualified employees volunteering their time and expertise to fight the spread of COVID-19. Blue Cross health care specialists, including MDs and nurses, among others, will be compensated for delivering life-saving care to those in need. The company put out a call for employee volunteers last week, and received more than 25 applications in the first 24 hours. Today, more than 30 employees have volunteered. As of April 8, there are 20,346 cases and 959 deaths from COVID-19 in Michigan. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency in Michigan to help officials and communities respond and slow the spread of COVID-19. On March 28, President Donald Trump approved disaster funding for Michigan, which will be made available to assist in dealing with the pandemic. The state of Michigan is now seeking health care professionals to volunteer their expertise to fight it. “We’re immensely grateful to every health care professional fighting this pandemic, caring for those affected and saving lives throughout Michigan and beyond,” said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan President and CEO Daniel J. Loepp. “The compassionate medical volunteers from Blue Cross are playing a critical role and we’re proud to support their work during this time of incredible need.” Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is also waiving the cost of telehealth medical visits to its members that have the benefit included in their health care plan and expanding access to prescription drug refills. To learn more, visit: MiBluesPerspectives.com. For more information and a full list of volunteering opportunities, visit: www.michigan.gov/coronavirus. Additional opportunities will be added as needs are identified. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSM provides health benefits to more than 4.7 million members residing in Michigan in addition to employees of Michigan-headquartered companies residing outside the state. The company has been committed to delivering affordable health care products through a broad variety of plans for businesses, individuals and seniors for more than 80 years. Beyond health care coverage, BCBSM supports impactful community initiatives and provides leadership in improving health care. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBluesPerspectives.com.
