BOSTON — August 24, 2012 — In a fight to the finish, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) senior leaders out-walked the Boston Red Sox front office in a friendly competition designed to help promote Boston Mayor Menino's city-wide fitness challenge.
Executives from the Boston Red Sox and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts participated in a three-week steps-based fitness challenge that began on July 23, 2012, and ran through August 12, 2012. BCBSMA took the early lead and never gave it up. When the steps were tallied, each Red Sox participant averaged 13,120 per week while the Blue Cross participants averaged 16,722 steps per week.
As winner of the competition, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts President & CEO Andrew Dreyfus presented a $5,000 donation to The Jimmy Fund at their annual Radio Telethon, and the Red Sox donated $10,000. "Blue Cross jumped into this competition with both feet (so to speak), had fun, and more importantly are honored to make a contribution to the Jimmy Fund," Dreyfus said. "The Red Sox are terrific partners and we applaud their competitive spirit on and off the field."
In April, Mayor Menino announced a year-long, city-wide campaign to provide people in Boston with easy access to free and low-cost opportunities for physical activity and exercise with the goal of reducing obesity. The Mayor has challenged residents to drop a collective 1 million pounds and move 10 million miles. The total number of steps both teams took during the three-week contest counts toward the campaign. Anyone can join the campaign at www.BostonMovesForHealth.org, where individuals can track their miles and pounds lost.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (www.bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not-for-profit health plan headquartered in Boston. Celebrating our 75th anniversary in 2012, we are committed to working with others in a spirit of shared responsibility to make quality health care affordable. Consistent with our corporate promise to always put our members first, we are rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality.