Effective for dates of service beginning January 1, 2011, IBC is now required by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans, to participate in the BCBSA national Medicare Advantage PPO Network Sharing program and accept Medicare Advantage PPO enrollees from other Blue Cross Blue Shield Plans who travel or reside in our five-county Philadelphia service area as our local members. Similar to the current BlueCard® Program for commercial Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO Plans, this national BCBSA initiative enables enrollees in one Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare Advantage PPO Plan to obtain health care benefits and services from participating Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan providers while traveling or living in another Blue Cross Blue Shield Plan’s service area.
For more information, read the complete article in the March edition of Partners in Health UpdateSM.