Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is making investments to support frontline healthcare workers and the community with improved access to care.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought together many organizations that support the community with immediate needs to combat food insecurity. Additionally, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) continues its leadership role by improving access to healthcare and engaging with strategic partners as well as members of the community to keep the public informed during the pandemic.
"Throughout the greater Kansas City region, people are risking their own health to protect our community's health, safety and well-being," said Jenny Housley, Blue KC Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "From the healthcare workers and first responders, to teachers and essential workers, people are doing their part to keep our community running, and we want to sincerely thank them for their hard work and make sure we do our part in this fight against COVID-19."
Addressing hunger and food insecurity
Blue KC is matching donations from employees to support Harvesters, the local Feeding America food bank. To date, more than $25,000 has been raised for the organization, representing more than 75,000 meals.
Blue KC announced a gift of $100,000 to Kanbe’s Markets in order to provide food access throughout the community and bring fresh produce to food deserts in our area. In addition, Blue KC’s Live Blue Kitchen + Café teamed up with House of Hope KC to cook and deliver meals to first responders, healthcare workers and nonprofit organizations across the Kansas City metro area.
Community engagement
Blue KC joined efforts with the Kansas City Royals with a $25,000 donation to launch the Royals Respond Fund, an effort that offers resources to the community and helpful information. Blue KC is also donating $1 to the Royals Respond Fund each time someone uses the hashtag #GratefulKC via social media to show our support for healthcare workers and essential employees. Blue KC will donate an additional $25,000 to the Royals Respond Fund as a result of the #GratefulKC campaign.
In addition to the Royals Respond Fund, Blue KC also donated $200,000 to the Kansas City Regional COVID-19 Response and Recovery fund which has raised more than $17 million in relief dollars to address community needs as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Blue KC is offering telehealth services* through the COVID-19 pandemic to both members and non-members in our community through three offerings:
- Blue KC members can access cost-free telehealth services, including virtual urgent care and behavioral health therapy sessions through June 30, 2020 by visiting BlueKCVirtualCare.com.
- Through a partnership with MeMD, Kansas City residents without health insurance can access free online care for common illnesses and injuries through June 30, 2020 by visiting BlueKC.com/Access.
- Through the Frontline Therapy Network, healthcare providers, first responders, and veterans can access therapy by visiting www.thebattlewithin.org/frontline-therapy-network.
Early during the COVID-19 pandemic, Blue KC participated in the city-wide effort to encourage people to stay home through the “Stay Home KC” campaign and will continue to collaborate with city officials, healthcare organizations, first responders and others to identify areas of need.
With other community partners, Blue KC is also helping to spearhead the Comeback KC public service communications campaign aiming to provide a single source of information for the community. The campaign has donated masks and encourages people to engage in testing, contact tracing and other COVID-19 precautions to reopen our the city safely and responsibly.
* This information is a summary as of May 2020 and coverage benefits are subject to change. For the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 coverage, contact your BCBS company or the Customer Service number of the back of your member ID card.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent, locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies.