At war with a virus: A roundup of recent news about the COVID‑19 pandemic

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network have made many changes to support health care providers and protect members during the COVID‑19 public health crisis. These changes date back to a few days before the first Michigan cases of COVID‑19 were reported. Since then, we’ve focused our efforts on facilitating testing and treatment, expanding telehealth services, reducing utilization management requirements, ensuring patients have access to the medications they need and extending many deadlines to support you and our members.

View a list of COVID‑19 temporary changes

To make it easy for you to find and understand the changes we’ve made, we created a document, Temporary changes due to the COVID‑19 pandemic, which lists each temporary change, along with the start and end date of the change. We’re updating this document as additional changes are made or if dates are extended.

See COVID‑19 resources and information for providers, below, for instructions on how to find this document and other COVID‑19 materials.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appoints Blue Cross director to Michigan Coronavirus Task Force on Racial Disparities

Bridget Hurd, senior director of Diversity and Inclusion at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will serve on a state task force investigating racial disparities related to COVID‑19 outcomes in Michigan. The task force will make recommendations that address transparent reporting data, reducing medical bias in testing and treatment and reducing barriers to physical and mental health care, among other issues.

“It is a great opportunity to focus on the short- and long-term needs of underserved populations and address the health and health care disparities that have been around for a very long time,” Hurd said.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan employees volunteer to join the frontline against COVID‑19

More than 30 Blue Cross and Blue Care Network health care specialists, including M.D.s and nurses, among others, volunteered to assist in treating COVID‑19 patients. The company received more than 25 applications the first day after announcing the request. “We’re immensely grateful to every health care professional fighting this pandemic, caring for those affected and saving lives throughout Michigan and beyond,” said Blue Cross President and CEO Daniel J. Loepp.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 35 Michigan hospitals join effort to collect comprehensive COVID‑19 data

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and 35 Michigan hospitals are collecting comprehensive clinical data on COVID‑19 patients to be included in an extensive registry that will provide insight into best practices in treating patients with the virus. The data, collected from hospitals throughout the state, will provide a comprehensive clinical picture that’s not typically available from smaller registries that contain data from just one hospital or health system. The initiative, called MI-COVID19, hopes to identify factors associated with higher levels of critical COVID‑19 illness as well as what patient characteristics and treatments led to improved outcomes.

COVID‑19 resources and information for providers

Michigan Blue Cross and BCN providers can visit bcbsm.com/coronavirus and click the For Providers tab. Log in to Provider Secured Services for your best Blue Cross resources for the coronavirus. You'll find the most up-to-date information there.

For the latest COVID‑19 information from Michigan State Medical Society, visit its COVID‑19 Resource Center for Physicians and Patients** webpage.

The Michigan Osteopathic Association also has a COVID‑19 resources** webpage.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides updated COVID‑19 information for health care providers on its Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‑19)** page.

The American Medical Association provides helpful tools for providers on its  COVID‑19: Frequently asked questions** page.

For more information about our efforts to support providers and members, see Meeting members’ behavioral health needs in a time of crisis, also in this issue.

**Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network don’t own or control this website.