Florida Blue Centers: 10 years helping people live healthier
DORAL, FL – Florida Blue Centers, an initiative of the health insurance company Florida Blue, celebrates with pride their tenth anniversary of being open to the public as a trusted resource within the communities they serve.
Florida Blue has opened eleven centers in South Florida so far, including Palm Beach and Port St. Lucie, and is looking to increase that number within Sanitas centers, one of their providers. At the state level, 40 centers have been opened.
“Through Florida Blue Centers, we put our mission in motion,” says Orbel Machado, Senior Manager of Hialeah Blue Center. He is referring to the mission of Florida Blue, which is helping people and communities achieve better health.
In order to do so, Florida Blue has made accessible to members and non-members a broad portfolio of resources and information, aiming at expanding their knowledge on the options they have at their disposal for not only achieving better health, but having an overall better quality of life.
“We have a social worker in charge of helping anyone from the community to navigate the potential social benefits they are eligible for such as subsidized housing, known as Plan 8, or any other county or city subsidized housing programs. We help them with the information they need like requirements or deadlines to apply, but also with filling out their applications,” Machado explains.
And not only that. At the centers, residents can also request information to apply for subsidized transportation programs, renew Medicaid, get a job and learn anything else they require to fulfill their basic needs and social determinants of health. Community specialists (social workers) are there to remove barriers and connect people to the specific resources they need.
An example of the previous statement is the employment seminars Florida Blue Centers host every month through partnerships with organizations like CareerSource, the state agency that seeks to integrate people to society, and Miami Dade College that explains to new immigrant how to continue applying their skills and knowledge in the USA.
Also, through partnerships with credit unions, the community gains access to financial literacy resources that can be very useful to learn financial concepts to apply in their daily lives, and immigration services, including citizenship classes. Their goal is to be a hub of information, and a help center for everyone who needs guidance in any area that leads to a prosperous and balanced life.
Florida Blue Centers, a friendly hand in your fight against a chronic disease
A decisive key success factor of the centers has been the prevention of chronic diseases, something tackled in multiple ways. One of them is through monthly talks led by registered nurses and aimed at educating the public on how to continue living a healthy lifestyle, how to avoid falling ill with a chronic disease and how to properly manage a chronic disease. Each month, a registered nurse conveys a presentation of one specific disease within the most prevailing ones in society.
It should be noted that all these services are offered for free. People only have to pay the fees corresponding to the specific program they are applying for. For instance, the federal fees the government charges for immigration procedures.
“We can’t achieve our mission of improving people’s health if we don’t get involved with the communities the way we do, because at the end of the day, if they don’t have their basic needs met, they probably aren’t going to worry about their health. That’s why we work in improving the conditions of members and non-members, so that they can start thinking about themselves, their health and then consider Florida Blue as their first choice for health insurance,” Orbel states.
Getting to know the communities up close through Florida Blue Centers has been a game changer for the health insurance carrier, because not only is the organization helping improve people’s health but is also learning constantly what they need and designing and adjusting their health plans accordingly.
Once someone becomes a Florida Blue member, they continue enjoying all the above perks, while at the same time, receive personalized guidance within the centers at the hands of specialized customers service agents, whose job is to resolve any issue or question, big or small, they may have with their insurance. Aspiring members also receive detailed orientation on how to become a member, and what that entails.
In addition, there’s an eight-week program designed for members suffering from diabetes and prediabetes with the purpose of educating them about how to control their ailment. “They take home measuring equipment and strips to measure their glucose levels and if they obtain an alarming result, they immediately receive a call from a provider that will assist them to get back to normal,” Orbel explains.
Members are also entitled to a personal health assessment, weekly Zumba and yoga classes, personal mental health assessments, and reminder calls for patients with a chronic disease that have pending appointments or treatments. “The only difference between the services we offer to non-members and members is that only the latter involves clinical intervention, but everything related with information, education and knowledge is for the general public,” Orbel clarifies.
Florida Blue Open Enrollment season, the time of the year to buy a health plan for the upcoming year, is now active up until January 15. “If you are on top of your health by conducting the different assessments we have for members, you get rewarded with up to $500,” says Orbel.
If you’re interested in learning how to obtain the best coverage that tailors your specific needs and what the right health insurance can do for you, visit the Florida Blue Center of your choice. The closest to Doral is the one located in Hialeah.
For more information, visit https://www.floridablue.com/center/hialeah or https://www.floridablue.com/help/contact-us
You can also call (877) 352-5830.