In the more than three decades that I have been a member of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield family, health care has changed enormously.
Medical advances almost unimaginable 30 years ago are now commonplace. For example, operations once requiring lengthy hospital stays have been transformed by minimally invasive surgical techniques into brief outpatient procedures. There have been advances in health care delivery, too. Instead of carrying handwritten prescriptions to the drugstore, clinicians can now submit them electronically and medications can be mailed directly to the home. Health plans that once focused almost exclusively on paying claims now partner with members, accounts, and clinicians to identify ways to improve care and contain its cost. These developments have enabled people to lead healthier and longer lives.
During more than 30 years of dramatic change, one thing has remained constant — our commitment to our members and the communities we serve.
Our commitment to the community takes many forms. In conjunction with the Private Industry Council, Madison Park High School, and Brighton High School, we help prepare today's students for the demands of tomorrow. In partnership with the Boston Public Health Commission and others, we are striving to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care by promoting culturally competent care. The company continues to work with minority- and women-owned companies; for the second consecutive year, we have increased spending and partnering with diverse businesses by over 60 percent.
In 2006, three out of four Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts associates participated in our BlueCrew employee volunteer program, which provides support to organizations throughout Massachusetts. In partnership with Outdoor Explorations, BlueCrew volunteers helped make Plimoth Plantation more accessible. For the third year in a row, this spring we served as the flagship sponsor for Project Bread's Walk for Hunger, which helps alleviate hunger in communities all across the state.
In 2001, as part of this long-standing commitment, we established the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation to expand access to care to all citizens of the Commonwealth. The Foundation provides direct support and advances policy initiatives to address the needs of the underinsured and uninsured. The Foundation's endowment now exceeds $100 million; since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $21.6 million in grants to innovative health care organizations all across Massachusetts. We are particularly pleased that research commissioned by the Foundation served as the catalyst for the pioneering health care reform legislation signed into law in April — legislation now being emulated by other states. All of us can be justly proud of Massachusetts leaders who worked in a truly bipartisan fashion to ensure that all citizens can benefit from the great health care resources of our state.
As we look to the future, the Board and I have complete confidence in the capable leadership of Cleve Killingsworth and his management team. Building upon our strong heritage, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts will remain a trusted partner in the community and one of the best health plans in the nation.
William C. Van Faasen
Chairman of the Board