Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Accelerates $80 Million in Advance Payments to Health Care Providers

(Eagan, Minnesota) April 9, 2020 — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is committed to supporting our provider partners through this health crisis. This is a time when health care plans and providers need to work together in order to protect the health of our communities, and we have been working continuously with providers to understand their unique needs.

In an effort to assist our valued provider partners with their immediate financial concerns, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is accelerating approximately $80 million in advance payments to providers for quality and cost standards achieved in 2019. These payments were previously scheduled to take place in the fall. 

In addition, Blue Cross has removed prior authorizations for COVID-19 and many other treatments, and has advanced payments to providers for achievements made in the innovation and transformation of care. We will continue to work through these issues with providers to ensure our members receive the care they need, now and in the future.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

For more than 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an affordable price. We are on a mission to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people and communities we serve by reinventing both ourselves and the broader system. Our more than 2.5 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. As a proud nonprofit organization, we believe working to advance wellness for all Minnesotans is the greatest investment we can make. Our goal is nothing less than for everyone to be able to achieve their full health potential, regardless of race or other socially defined circumstances. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which serves more than 107 million members across the U.S.