Global Network And Mobile App Help Blue Cross And Blue Shield Members Find Doctors And Hospitals All Around The World

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) companies are committed to ensuring members have the tools and information they need to make more informed healthcare decisions.  Now through innovative product offerings from GeoBlue, and its new mobile application, members who are living or working abroad can find carefully selected doctors and hospitals in more than 180 countries. GeoBlue is the trade name of Worldwide Insurance Services, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA).

GeoBlue offers group health insurance to international business travelers and expatriates through participating BCBS companies.  Its elite contracted network includes 6,000-plus English-speaking doctors and 1,200 facilities around the world.

"Whether you're in your hometown or working in a foreign country halfway across the globe, The Blues® have a product to meet your needs.  GeoBlue is an example of partnering with providers and using information and technology to provide members with access to high quality care all around the world," said Maureen Sullivan, senior vice president and chief strategy officer, BCBSA.  "GeoBlue has the ability to leverage knowledge, expertise and provider relationships to help members get the care they need when they are away from home with the ease and peace of mind of the Blue experience."

GeoBlue recently launched its international group health products and released the first downloadable iPhone® app that serves as a hand-held global concierge for medical services.  The app helps GeoBlue members find English-speaking physicians and dentists, emergency rooms, clinics, hospitals and pharmacies abroad.  A new online video details more information about the app, which also helps individuals describe their symptoms, understand diagnoses and treatment plans in different languages, and learn whether their medications are available as well as how they are branded in the most frequently visited countries.  Almost a third of GeoBlue members have downloaded the new iPhone app since its debut in March.

GeoBlue provides members with a full suite of concierge-level assistance services, including appointment scheduling on short notice and direct payment to participating doctors and hospitals so members avoid out-of-pocket costs.  GeoBlue products include GeoBlue Expat(SM), for international assignees and their families who leave their home countries for six months or more, and GeoBlue Traveler(SM), for international business travelers who are outside their home country for trips lasting up to 180 days.  GeoBlue services include wellness programs, physician-directed case management and emergency evacuation.

About the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 38 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for 100 million members – one-in-three Americans.  For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit www.BCBS.com.  We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube and follow us on Twitter for up-to-date information about BCBSA.

About GeoBlue
GeoBlue is the trade name for the international health insurance programs of Worldwide Insurance Services, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.  Setting the industry standard, GeoBlue combines the latest mobile technology and worldwide healthcare expertise to deliver global medical assistance and health benefits that put the health, safety and convenience of world travelers first. GeoBlue's innovative approach opens the door to an elite community of thousands of carefully selected, contracted doctors and hospitals in almost every country in the world.  The scope of GeoBlue's services and technology create a complete, reliable, convenient way to keep international travelers and expats healthy and productive.  Visit www.geo-blue.com.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association

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