Mission Report 2024
Creating a personal, high-quality experience
Blue Shield is uniquely positioned to improve and support the healthcare experience for each member. We are doing this through major structural changes to the healthcare system.
Pharmacy Care Reimagined: the pharmacy experience members deserve
Our first-of-its-kind approach unbundles the traditional pharmacy benefit manager model, bringing transparency to the system. This results in affordable access to lifesaving drugs, trusted pharmacists and greater convenience through delivery or retail pharmacies. In 2024, we worked with Fresenius Kabi and Evio Pharmacy Solutions to reduce the price of an FDA-approved Humira biosimilar to $525 per monthly dose, down from $2,100.
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Blue Shield of California Slashes Cost of World’s Best-Selling Drug
Value-based care for better outcomes
We’re changing how health care is paid for, shifting from traditional fee-for-service to value-based care — paying providers based on quality, affordability, member experience and outcomes. By scaling this across primary care, hospitals and specialists, we can improve coordination and reduce unnecessary hospital visits. Our goal: tie more payments to health outcomes, and move toward limiting the growth of healthcare costs to 3% each year.
Lifestyle medicine at your fingertips
Our clinically proven, digital lifestyle medicine platform, Wellvolution, celebrated five years of helping members lose weight, treat diabetes, quit smoking, improve their mental health, make lifestyle changes guided by Blue Zone principles and more. Tailored to our members’ needs, Wellvolution’s personalized programs help each individual make short- and long-term health improvements.
Virtual Blue expands access to care
Virtual Blue marked its first year offering high-quality, integrated primary care, specialty care, and mental and behavioral health supports. Members using virtual benefits reported higher primary care engagement, fewer emergency-care visits and greater overall satisfaction with their health plan, compared to those who didn’t use virtual tools. Virtual Blue also expanded access to behavioral health supports and drives sustainability.
Inclusive programs for our members
We expanded our health plan network with providers that offer support and community-centered health programs. These initiatives empower members to use no-cost preventive health care such as annual exams, screenings and vaccinations.
For the Latino community, Blue Shield partnered with Zócalo Health to offer a culturally aligned healthcare experience. Our co-hosted Cafecito, Cumbia and Salud events promoted cancer awareness through music, dance and coffee alongside health and screening resources.
For family planning, maternal health programs like Maven offered extra support through virtual appointments with clinical practitioners and coaches, including lactation consultants, doulas, sleep coaches and care advocates.