How Blue Cross NC is making health care easier to access

Think about the last time you needed health care. Did you know where to go? Did you understand your coverage and where to turn for help? Or did transportation, cost, or other barriers make it harder to get the care you needed?

For too many North Carolinians, these challenges are part of everyday life. They affect our neighbors, friends, family members, and colleagues, making it harder to get the care they need when they need it.

That's why Blue Cross NC is launching our Access to Care initiative, a long-term commitment focused on helping more North Carolinians get the care they need, when and where they need it. Together with the Blue Cross NC Foundation and community partners across the state, we're supporting solutions that make care more accessible, connected, and affordable for North Carolinians.

Why access to care matters

Access to care affects more than individual health. It affects families, communities, and the affordability of our health care system.

Many North Carolinians, particularly those living in rural communities, continue to face challenges finding providers, navigating coverage, accessing transportation, and connecting to services when they need them. These barriers can lead to delayed care, poorer health outcomes, and higher health care costs.

Improving access to care is one of the most important ways we can improve health outcomes, strengthen communities, and help people get care before small health concerns become bigger problems.

What access to care looks like

Access to care isn't just about whether there's a health care facility nearby. It's also about whether people can afford care, understand their coverage, find trusted providers, and get the support they need to navigate the system.

Sometimes it starts with helping people understand their health coverage. Through support from the Blue Cross NC Foundation for organizations like Care Share Health Alliance, North Carolinians can get help understanding their coverage options, navigating Medicaid and Marketplace enrollment, and staying connected to benefits.

Access can also mean making coverage more affordable in the first place. Through a partnership with the NC Chamber, Carolina HealthWorks allows small employers to offer comprehensive health benefits to their employees, helping more North Carolinians connect to preventive care and the services they need to stay healthy.

In many communities, access means having a trusted place to receive care close to home. Like Blue Cross NC, FastMed is a part of the CuraCor family of companies and has doubled its primary care footprint, creating more opportunities for people to receive preventive and ongoing care in their communities.

For others, access means having somewhere to turn when they need care but are struggling to afford it. Across North Carolina, free and charitable clinics help uninsured residents access primary and dental care while strengthening local care capacity and supporting healthier communities.

Access is improved when people have a trusted guide. Blue Cross NC Foundation also partners with community health workers to help people understand coverage, navigate services, overcome barriers, and stay connected to care.

The ways we improve access may look different from community to community, but the goal is the same: helping people get the right care at the right time.

Looking ahead

There isn't a single solution to improving access to care. That's why we're working across multiple fronts, helping people connect to coverage, expanding access to care close to home, strengthening the health care workforce, and supporting trusted community organizations that help people navigate the health care system.

Our Access to Care initiative is not a one-time announcement. It's a long-term commitment that brings together and builds on work already happening across Blue Cross NC and in communities throughout the state. Simply put, we're working to make it easier for people to get the care they need, when and where they need it.