During 2022, we aimed to amplify the voices of those working on issues that affect Massachusetts residents’ ability to access health care and we use our own voice to call attention to our key focus areas. Through our grantmaking, policy and research, and convenings, we will continue to center the important voices that are often left out of the conversation.
2021 marked the 20th year since the founding of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation. When the BCBSMA Foundation was created in 2001, we had a clear mission and goal—to expand access to health insurance for the lowest income residents of Massachusetts. At that time almost 7% of Massachusetts residents (or 500,000 individuals) were without health insurance. Over the last twenty years, as we’ve made significant progress toward our coverage goal, our understanding of the issue has grown.
The year 2020 was an extraordinary one for all of us. In the face of so much loss and instability, it is natural that many of us had moments of feeling stuck, or even defeated. But as we took time to honor and acknowledge the losses and challenges, we also witnessed Massachusetts respond to pressing needs, evolve our ways of thinking, and act toward measurable change. Throughout 2020, the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation looked for ways to join and support those efforts by centering the voices of those closest to the impact.
Like other states across the country, our Commonwealth is in a very different situation than we were in 2019. We are facing unprecedented challenges to the health and economic well-being of our residents. We have been harshly reminded of the realities of systemic racism and racial inequities.
We continue to inform and elevate discussions on the key health care issue of access to coverage that the Foundation has long been known for. In 2018 we also deepened our focus on access to critical health care and community services.
