Not every North Carolinian has what they need to achieve their best health. Differences in health outcomes based on race, geography and other aspects of identity have worsened since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.1 To help achieve health equity, we’re working to provide resources to people whom existing structures have failed to serve.
Helping People Sustain Healthy Lifestyles
We’re working to determine the best ways to help North Carolinians get what they need to sustain healthy lifestyles. These efforts include helping eligible people enroll in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (FNS/SNAP), launching an advisory council focused on foster youth and families and developing test models that offer different types of support for health and well-being. more...
We launched four test models that offer different combinations of nutritious food, health coaching, companionship and assistance. So far, these models have helped 10,000+ people.2 In 2022, we plan to add models to help people manage asthma, prevent falls and receive support as they care for loved ones with chronic conditions.
Due to COVID-19, many North Carolinians lost jobs or experienced other life changes that made them eligible for FNS/SNAP. Between the stigma, uneven broadband access and lack of offices in some areas, not everyone who’s eligible for federal aid receives the food they need. By connecting each person with someone who could help them navigate the complex system, we have enrolled 10,000+ people3 in FNS/SNAP. In 2022, we plan to add 8,000 more members and begin enrolling eligible pregnant and breastfeeding parents, and children under five, in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
North Carolina’s foster/child welfare system serves 30,000+ children and youth.4 In 2021, our Healthy Blue Medicaid program launched a Foster Care Advisory Council to help these young people and their families. The council will study the current system, provide recommendations to the state, and coordinate with community groups to help each person access resources for good physical and behavioral health.
North Carolina’s foster/child welfare system serves 30,000+ children and youth.
A More Inclusive Insurance Sales Workforce
People with the right insurance can lead healthier, more secure lives, and North Carolinians prefer to work with agents who deeply understand their communities. We’re training current agents to cultivate more inclusive environments and investing to diversify North Carolina’s insurance sales workforce. more...
Beginning in Spring 2022, we will offer scholarships for Durham Technical Community College’s insurance licensing program to women, bilingual people who speak English and Spanish, people of color, workers displaced by COVID-19 and those amid career transitions. For Fall 2022, we’re partnering with Central Piedmont Community College’s insurance licensing program to recruit diverse students and set them up for a career that offers opportunities for success in the important role of connecting people with their health insurance needs.
Our work to help achieve health equity includes strategies to advance diversity, equity and inclusion; invest in our communities; and focus on drivers of health – the aspects of life outside of the doctor’s office or hospital that influence each person’s health outcomes. Follow the progress of our continued efforts to make health care better for all.
Our Commitment to Social Responsibility
Our social responsibility footprint is seen across the state through our intentional approach to community investment and outreach, diverse and inclusive partnerships, burgeoning environmental social governance, employee volunteerism and giving, diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, work for health equity and efforts to address social drivers of health. We focus on the needs of the present and the future with a positive impact on our environment, community and economy.
Previous Article
Blue Connect