access and affordability : carefirst 2005


	In fulfilling its primary mission to serve the health care coverage needs of its customers, CareFirst works to make quality health care accessible and affordable.
	CareFirst joins other Blue Cross and Blue Shield organizations throughout the United States in providing imaginative leadership in the campaign against rising health care costs. A number of important actions last year illustrate the creative ways CareFirst has fulfilled its commitment to health care cost containment: CareFirst lowered income targets in 2005 by $60 million in order to moderate premium costs for our members and employer accounts. In 2005, we were the only major health plan in Maryland to absorb a new state-mandated tax on HMO premiums – saving CareFirst HMO customers in Maryland nearly $20 million. As the only health insurer offering coverage to individuals who otherwise would have been uninsurable in the District of Columbia, CareFirst reduced premiums, increased benefits and expanded marketing of its DC Open Enrollment product. Those efforts more than doubled enrollment in the product during 2005. Recognizing the diverse needs within the communities we serve, CareFirst introduced new low-cost health care plans for individuals and their families.
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CareFirst, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ® Registered trademark of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. ® ' Registered trademark of CareFirst of Maryland, Inc. CareFirst, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates are Equal Opportunity Employers.

improving health care
access and affordability
in our region

To help meet the health care
needs of the uninsured, many of
whom are young and healthy,
CareFirst introduced new, lower
cost, more flexible products for
individuals and their families.