Since 2009, I’ve been blessed to have a job that encourages me to meet my friends and neighbors in Louisiana, traveling across all 64 parishes. By my count, I’ve made presentations, workshops, compliance seminars or university lectures in 60 parishes (at least!) in the past 15 years.
The blessings these nearly 2,000 public appearances have brought me are too numerous to count! I now have contacts, friends and peers all over this great state. And I’m blessed to be born and still live here. Traveling as a representative of Blue Cross has been the greatest job (and adventure!) of my life.
I was on the road recently, thinking about the health insurance market itself, and what kind of choices my friends have when they shop for insurance. I was struck by how many competitors that want to say, “Of course we sell in Louisiana!” But they don’t come near to offering plans in all the parishes in our great state.
Lake Charles north ‘round Shongaloo
After some extensive surveying, I counted 12 parishes where Blue Cross is the only carrier selling health insurance on HealthCare.gov. This marketplace is important because it’s where people can buy individual health insurance, in most cases qualifying for large dollar amounts of federal financial aid.
I see you, my friends in Napoleonville, Homer and Many! Here at Blue Cross we have NOT forgotten about you! You can buy our products on HealthCare.gov right in your own home ZIP code. Ever since HealthCare.gov opened for the first time in 2013, Blue Cross has been there, offering health plans in every parish of the state. And we have stayed in this market even as others came and went once they realized how expensive it was to serve these customers.
I’m talking to you there in Oberlin. I can hear you my special friends (because I grew up in Morgan City!) in Thibodaux and Houma. You know you can count on Blue Cross (and our subsidiary, HMO Louisiana, Inc.) to offer you different health insurance options, at a time when no national competitor will sell in your markets.
And we have expanded our local reach since acquiring Vantage Health Plan a few years ago. The folks at Vantage were the only other Louisiana-based health plan selling policies on HealthCare.gov. They had a strong legacy – like us – of serving the communities where their employees lived and worked, particularly in the North Louisiana area. We’re glad to have their skills, experience and expertise on our team. We’re working together to ensure our fellow Louisianians, from the tip of the Delta to the mouth of the Mississippi, have access to quality, affordable health plans with networks that include the top doctors and hospitals in the state.
Know that I am proud to work for a company that does the hard work to make sure our health plans and broad, deep networks are available in all 64 parishes! None of our competitors come close to that. And they never will. They’re just not “Louisianians”…
Venice through Vidalia, up by Oak Grove too
I’ve also learned from my extensive travels and meeting so many really cool people that Louisianians put a very high value on something else when they shop for health insurance coverage: They want to do business with a company that puts them first. They want to do business with a locally owned and managed, not-for-profit (but TAXPAYING) company when they shop for health insurance. We’ve heard this loudly and clearly in the past few years.
That’s great news because that is exactly who we are, and we are here for you. And if that’s important to you, you’ll be glad to know we are the ONLY health insurance carrier in the state that can meet those criteria. And we are happy to do this for you every single day.
Even in heavily populated metro areas, where you may see up to four carriers operating on the HealthCare.gov website, ONLY Blue Cross/HMO Louisiana is your locally owned and managed, not-for-profit, tax-paying entity selling health insurance in our state.
We’ve Got a Blue For You
The Straight Talk is, ONLY Blue Cross/HMO Louisiana offers health insurance coverage for individuals through HealthCare.gov in all 64 parishes in Louisiana. In 12 parishes, competitors don’t even try. I’m talking to you Marksville, Natchitoches and Winnfield! We are proud to be THE health insurance company selling directly to you in your home ZIP code. Thanks for trusting us with your business, and we look forward to serving you even more in the future.
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