THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross), California operating subsidiary of WellPoint Inc. , announced today that it received the "2006 National Environmental Leadership Award in Asthma Management" from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA held its recognition ceremony in Washington, D.C., earlier this week in conjunction with the National Asthma Forum.
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The award celebrates health plans and health care providers who offer comprehensive tools to help people with asthma lead healthy, active lives. One health plan and one health care provider were presented with the award. "These award winners combine innovation, imagination and compassion to improve the quality of life for asthma sufferers," said Bill Wehrum, EPA acting assistant administrator for Air and Radiation. "We can all take a deep breath and express our appreciation for Blue Cross of California."
Blue Cross' State Sponsored Business unit submitted the award-winning application, led by Dawn Wood, M.D., vice president, medical director and Margot Lisa Miglins, Ph.D., clinical research manager. "Our application, titled 'Asthma, Air Quality, and Community Health: A Health Plan's Contribution' emphasized the exceptional importance and value of community partnerships in addressing significant health challenges to members and communities," said Dr. Wood.
"We are pleased to be recognized by the EPA for our solutions in addressing Asthma," said John Monahan, president of State Sponsored Business. "This award supports our mission to improve the lives of the people we serve and the health of our communities."
Blue Cross of California, through its subsidiary Blue Cross of California Partnership Plan, designed a Comprehensive Asthma Intervention Program (CAIP) to improve care for California Medi-Cal and Healthy Families members with asthma. CAIP's efforts focused on individual case management which includes home visits and asthma education through physicians, pharmacists, community agencies, health education classes and their Web site. Recognizing the need to address both indoor and outdoor environmental asthma triggers, CAIP worked with individuals and communities to address poor air quality. As a result, to date, CAIP members experienced a 60 percent decrease in hospital admissions and a 46 percent decrease in emergency department visits.
Blue Cross of California is one of the state's largest health insurers and together with its California affiliates, the company serves more than 7.6 million medical members. Headquartered in Southern California, Blue Cross of California offers a flexible product portfolio with a broad range of options for small, medium and large groups, as well as individual plans for people without access to group coverage, seniors and consumers who are eligible for state sponsored programs. Blue Cross of California and Blue Cross of California Partnership Plan are independent licensees of the Blue Cross Association and can be found on the web at http://www.bluecrossca.com/ .
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