Looking back, I am reminded of how much we’ve been through since the start of this decade. Three years of navigating through a global pandemic have taken an expansive toll on every aspect of our lives—our health, our families, and how we work.
There are many vital lessons on how we, as a society, experience health and the healthcare systems that support us. Nothing has made accessing affordable health care more important than COVID-19, the most significant public health crisis of our lifetimes.
The need to access high-quality health care has never been greater. And the cost of care has never been higher. This means our mission is more critical than ever. The system needs to change.
At Blue Shield of California, we are leading that change. As a nonprofit health plan, our mission is to ensure all Californians have access to high-quality health care at an affordable price. That’s why despite a post-COVID surge in healthcare costs that caused us to have a challenging financial year, we continue our ambitious pursuit to reimagine health care by bringing it into the digital age, shifting all our payments to being value-based, ensuring health care is equitable for everyone, and that youths can access the mental and emotional support they need, just to name a few examples. We pursue this agenda, all while striving to live our values of being human, honest, and courageous every day.
In 2022, we strongly supported the creation of California’s Office of Healthcare Affordability, whose goal is to lower the cost of care by setting spending targets for payers and providers – including hospitals – and ensuring that the money spent delivers better value and outcomes for patients. We believe collaboration among health plans, providers, health systems, and others in the healthcare ecosystem is vital. By working toward a more digital future with real-time exchange of patient data to guide care, we know it will be possible to address both cost and value.
Looking ahead, the challenges we as a country face in improving our healthcare system won’t be solved overnight. Blue Shield of California will continue to make bold moves to reimagine health care. We remain committed to improving access, serving more people, being sound financial stewards, living our values, and standing for what’s right in the communities where we live and work. Our more than 7,500 employees show up every day to help redefine the care that defines us all.
I remain grateful for the opportunity to lead Blue Shield through this monumental time and look forward to a year of exponential progress and change as we create a healthcare system that is worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable for everyone.
Here’s to a happy, healthy next chapter.
Paul Markovich
President and Chief Executive Officer
Click here to read Blue Shield of California's 2022 Mission Report, "Health Care That Serves You."