South Florida Church Group Collaboration with BCBS Florida t

A coalition of about 70 black churches in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, Fla., have formed an alliance with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida to offer health insurance to their members, church officials said at the group's annual meeting, the Miami Herald reports. The Collective Banking Group of Miami-Dade & Vicinity, which represents churches with a combined membership of about 30,000 to 50,000 people, and BCBS will hand out brochures at churches explaining two policies that will be offered.

The FamilyBlue Plan, a "medical discount card," costs $19.95 per month for an entire family and allows members to get a 10% to 50% discount on medical and dental services, prescriptions drugs and more. Members also will have access to a 24-hour hotline offering answers to health care questions.

The other policy, known as Go Blue, is an age-rated insurance product that includes limited benefits such as routine physician office visits, dental care, prescriptions and lab services. Go Blue will pay as much as $50 for covered services. BCBS Director of Business Development Paul Bartel said the plan is aimed at people seeking "basic preventive care."

Miami-Dade County has the highest percentage of uninsured or underinsured residents in Florida and among the highest in the country, according to Bartel. CBG officials say the portion of their membership who lack insurance is similar to that of the county (Karantsalis, Miami Herald, 4/9).

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