Editor’s Note: Loan guarantees are no longer an option for providers, but funding earmarked for loans has been shifted to augment the advance payments program. For any providers who have expressed interest in the loan guarantee program, Blue Shield of California will now evaluate requests as part of the advance payments program. For more information and to receive an application for the programs, providers are asked to send an email to Financecommunication@blueshieldca.com.
Bank of America is providing Blue Shield of California a $50 million line of credit to provide support to healthcare providers and hospitals dealing with economic pressures of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The available funds will be distributed by Blue Shield of California and help fund the Advanced Payments program for providers in need. Interested providers can receive an application by sending an email to Financecommunication@blueshieldca.com.
“We greatly appreciate the collaboration with Bank of America to help ensure we are able to support our providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The financial institution responded quickly to this need and this partnership will greatly benefit our providers,” said Sandra Clarke, chief financial officer and senior vice president, Blue Shield of California.
“During this unprecedented time, Bank of America is pleased to provide financing to Blue Shield of California as it continues to support healthcare workers and hospitals fighting COVID-19,” said Thad Alexander, senior vice president of Global Commercial Banking at Bank of America. “We have a shared mission of serving the communities in which we work and live, and we’re proud to help Blue Shield of California assist their providers on the front lines during this critical time.”
The partnership is part of Blue Shield’s more than $200 million in direct support to help ease financial pressures for healthcare providers who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus crisis. In addition to advanced payments, Blue Shield is also making available the following programs to eligible providers: loan guarantees; expanding a program that pays Blue Shield members’ liability to providers more quickly; and restructuring contracts for select Commercial providers so they can receive prepayments based on monthly revenue.
The financial support programs are part of Blue Shield of California’s range of initiatives offered to help patients, their providers and the community.
Additional steps to help remove administrative burden for providers include:
- Extending new and existing prior authorizations for elective procedures from the usual 120 days to 180 days.
- Streamlining initial clinical concurrent reviews to reduce provider documentation requirements.
- Waiving prior authorization requirements for transfers of post-acute patients when a member is moved to a different site of care, including skilled nursing facilities and extended acute rehabilitation facilities.
Blue Shield also has taken the following steps to further support healthcare providers and patients:
- Waiving members’ coinsurance, copayments and deductibles for COVID-19 screenings and testing.
- Waiving members’ coinsurance, copayments and deductibles for COVID-19 medical treatments through May 31, 2020.
- Eliminating member cost sharing for our Teladoc telehealth services through May 31, 2020.
Click here to read more about how we are responding to the coronavirus outbreak to ensure we can continue to deliver on our nonprofit mission.
About Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California strives to create a healthcare system worthy of our family and friends that is sustainably affordable. Blue Shield of California is a tax paying, nonprofit, independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association with over 4 million members, 6,800 employees and more than $20 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 in San Francisco and now headquartered in Oakland, Blue Shield of California and its affiliates provide health, dental, vision, Medicaid and Medicare healthcare service plans in California. The company has contributed more than $500 million to Blue Shield of California Foundation since 2002 to have an impact on California communities.
For more news about Blue Shield of California, please visit news.blueshieldca.com.
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