Texas Blues launches outreach campaign to promote exchange

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas is taking matters into its own hands to help spread the word and enroll more people into the state's health insurance exchange.

Through its statewide "Be Covered Texas" campaign, which Blue Cross launched Tuesday, the largest insurer in Texas hopes to reach almost 6 million uninsured residents, reported The Texas Tribune.

"The Be Covered program is about converting the uninsured in our state to insured status," said Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas President Bert Marshall. "It's about getting educational materials in the hands of community partners and other people who may be influential to the populations that are currently uninsured."

Blue Cross created a new website, becoveredtexas.org, that answers reform-related questions, provides educational materials and allows consumers to sign up for text messages to receive updates about insurance coverage deadlines. The insurer also intends to distribute information about the exchanges to community groups, schools, religious institutions and doctors.

"The worst thing that could happen is for Texans to ignore the new realities of the marketplace," Marshall said.

Texas isn't implementing its own state-run exchange, instead opting to allow the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services to operate the federal marketplace. Blue Cross is concerned about this arrangement because having decisions come from Washington, D.C., creates uncertainty, Marshall said.

To learn more:
- here's the Blue Cross Be Covered website
- read the Texas Tribune article