Caring Foundation

The Caring Foundation, founded by Independence Blue Cross (IBC) and Highmark^® Blue Shield, helps to provide free or low-cost Keystone Health Plan East HMO coverage to uninsured children and low-cost health insurance to uninsured adults in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties.

Health Insurance Plans administered through The Caring Foundation:

Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Free or low-cost Keystone Health Plan East HMO coverage for uninsured children and teens through 18 years of age. Low Cost CHIP costs $25.00, $40.00, $50.00, or $199.50 per month, per child, depending on the family’s income. IBC is the only CHIP contractor in our region to subsidize the Low Cost CHIP monthly premium.

adultBasic^SM
Keystone Health Plan East HMO coverage for adults from 19 through 64 years of age. It is a state-funded program via the tobacco settlement and provides limited benefit coverage for uninsured adults. IBC is the sole insurer for this program in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Special Care^SM
A low-cost, limited-benefit policy providing traditional fee-for-service health coverage for uninsured adults and children in southeastern Pennsylvania.

The number of children of needy families insured by the Caring Foundation has increased from 4,000 in 1990 to more than 40,000 today. Since its inception, the Caring Foundation has provided more than 4.2 million medical services to over 235,000 children.

IBC and Highmark Blue Shield donate the resources needed to cover administrative costs of the Foundation and have also provided a dollar-for-dollar match to all community contributions. Financial contributions continue to support the Foundation’s work with uninsured children. The Foundation administers the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s CHIP and adultBasic programs in southeastern Pennsylvania, and contributes all costs that exceed the administrative fee paid by the state.

The Caring Foundation, a United Way Agency, provides a subsidy to children in Low Cost CHIP. In 2008, the Caring Foundation dedicated more than $900,000 towards its goal of making health care more affordable to uninsured children from working families.

* Special Care is not affiliated with SPECIAL CARE, Inc., a home care company.