BOSTON, Sept. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As Hurricane Florence makes landfall, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts ("BCBSMA") is expediting access to care for members who live in the Carolinas and Virginia.

Through our national Blue Card plan, we provide health care coverage for Massachusetts-based companies whose employees live in other states. We have approximately 47,000 BCBSMA members in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. As this severe storm hits, we are working to ensure that members can access health services and medications quickly and in locations convenient to them. For our members living in affected areas, effective immediately, we are:

• Allowing early refills of prescription medications
• Offering medical and behavioral health visits through Well Connection, our telehealth platform, free of cost, including copayments and deductibles. Affected members simply need to use the code "FLORENCE" on the payment screen to waive the cost of a visit through September 27.

In addition, we will waive referral, authorization and pre-certification requirements for medical and pharmacy services in areas that have been declared federal disaster zones.

"Our focus right now is ensuring that our members in the Carolinas and Virginia can get the care they need, when they need it," said Andrew Dreyfus, president & CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "Our member service team is on standby and ready to help any affected members who may experience issues getting access to care. Our thoughts are with everyone who is in the path of what looks to be a devastating storm."  

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (bluecrossma.com) is a community-focused, tax-paying, not–for–profit health plan headquartered in Boston. We're the trusted health plan for more than 25,000 Massachusetts employers and 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 2.8 million members first, we're rated among the nation's best health plans for member satisfaction and quality. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts