Helping the Uninsured with “Be Covered Texas”

The Affordable Care Act has consumers and the industry alike wondering how to make sense of the new laws and how it will affect our health and our business. With such a dynamic and evolving landscape, it is inevitable there will be confusion and lack of awareness in the details.  We know that this is new territory. Even for us.

As part of our mission to create a healthier lifestyle for our communities, in March Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas launched an educational, statewide campaign, Be Covered Texas, to help uninsured Texans understand how the new health care law impacts them and what steps they need to take to get individual health insurance. Since then, our friends at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Oklahoma and New Mexico have also launched Be Covered campaigns.

In Texas, we’re partnering with local community-based organizations in each of the state’s 254 counties. Insurance may be new to many of those eligible to enroll, and they want to hear from people they know and trust. So we are working to reach people where they live, work, learn, worship, text and tweet by partnering with trusted and respected community groups, civic organizations, schools and religious institutions.

We’re excited that as of August 5, Be Covered Texas has more than 130 partners!

The campaign provides user-friendly, bilingual information and on-the-ground guidance. We work collaboratively with our community partners by participating in events and communications to reach their constituents and audiences. For example:

• Our Texas-wide partner, Las Comadres Para las Americanas, an internet-based group that meets monthly in many U.S. cities to build connections and community with other Latinas, distributed a message from their executive director to more than 4,000 members announcing our partnership and information about Be Covered Texas.
• In Houston, Be Covered Texas provided an educational speaker to Windsor Village United Methodist Church’s UMC’s Sunday morning congregation of more than 15,000 people.
• Our partner in Dallas, Ferguson Road Initiative, recently sent out a newsflash to more than 2,500 members announcing their partnership with Be Covered Texas, providing information on the campaign and how to get involved.

By providing bilingual resources through the Be Covered Texas website, social media channels and toll free number – we are empowering Texans to make the best choice for their healthcare needs.

We’ve received great feedback as a result:

“LULAC is the largest and oldest Hispanic Organization in the United States. We are committed to advancing the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs. Through our partnership with Be Covered Texas we hope to educate our Texas members about their opportunity to obtain individual health coverage this fall.” – Elia Mendoza, State President, LULAC

"Parents Step Ahead believes that the participation of parents in the education of their children is vital for the success of our community. Our Mission is to recognize, educate, enable and empower parents to take a proactive role in the educational and personal development of their children. Partnering with Be Covered Texas will extend our reach and grant us the platform necessary to educate our community on the opportunities available under the new health care law." – Edgar D. Maldonado, Programs & Communications Coordinator, Parents Step Ahead

To learn more about the ACA and Be Covered Texas, please call our toll free phone number 866-427-7492 and visit our website, www.becoveredtexas.org. All resources are in Spanish and English. We encourage everyone to “Like” us on Facebook (Be Covered Texas), follow us on Twitter (@BeCovered), and visit our website for news and partner updates.