Thousand Oaks, Calif. - To promote health in the Latino community, Blue Cross of California (BCC) has started a Web site called NuestroBien, which is Spanish for ”our well being." The site, located at
Nuestrobien.com offers information on the leading health care problems for Latinos, tips on improving health and links to the Blue Cross of California Web site. The site’s "Kids Center" provices games and animated clips on how the human body works. More 600 health-related articles for parents, teens and kids are available in both languages.
"NuestroBien is an important outreach by our organization to the Latino community, which has been historically underserved," says Charlene Maher, BCC vice president and general manager, individual services.
Latinos account for more than half of the 6.3 million Californians who lack health insurance, even though they constitute only 31% of the state's population, says Maher. They are three times more likely than other Californians to lack health insurance, she adds.
Mary Scanlon, senior vice president of eBusiness consumer technology for WellPoint Inc., BCC's parent company, says Spanish-speaking consumers can use the information to make decisions for themselves and their children.
"Our goal is to offer consumers new online tools that make it easy, convenient and familiar for them to get the information they need to make the best choices possible about their health and health care options," says Scanlon.
Nuestrobien.com is part of BCC's outreach to California's uninsured and underserved, the company says. "NuestroBien will prove an important key in our ongoing mission to provide affordable healthcare coverage to Californians," says Maher.
Products created to achieve that goal include Tonik, which is health insurance marketed to younger consumers who have been disinclined to buy policies. It is offered by BC Life & Health Insurance Co. Another product, BeneFits, is aimed at small businesses that have been unable to offer coverage to employees.
Source: Blue Cross of California
