Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) announced its plan to implement a series of initiatives aimed at addressing and eliminating racial, health and geographical disparities in North Carolina. Over the next few months, the company will launch three programs to provide strategic funding, capacity building for nonprofits and economic mobility for nonprofit organizations and government health entities serving rural and underserved communities and communities of color. To improve North Carolina’s ranking as having the eleventh-highest infant mortality rate in the country¹, the first initiative will focus on maternal and infant health, supporting Blue Cross NC’s goal to decrease racial disparities in maternal and child health care within the state by 50% in five years.

Addressing Health Disparities: Improving Maternal and Infant Health Outcomes

Blue Cross NC is committing $2 million to support evidence-based strategies that achieve significant improvement in infant and maternal health outcomes, specifically addressing disparities in Black, American Indian and Hispanic communities.

To learn more about this effort, click here to read the full press release in our Newsroom.

¹https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/maternal-mortality-2021/maternal-mortality-2021.htm