Highmark provides face coverings to Medicare members as part of 1 million face covering initiative

Highmark face coverings will be sent to nearly 150,000 members who have individual Highmark Medicare Advantage plans in Pennsylvania and West Virginia

PITTSBURGH (August 20, 2020) — Highmark Inc. is sending cloth face coverings to Direct Pay Medicare members in Pennsylvania and West Virginia as part of its 1 million face covering initiative. Members who have individual Highmark Medicare Advantage plans can expect to receive one face covering per member at their residence through the remainder of August and early September. In total, nearly 150,000 face coverings will be distributed across both states.

“One of the main goals of this initiative is to keep our members safe and healthy by ensuring they have the resources to protect themselves against the spread of COVID-19,” Alexis Miller, senior vice president of federal markets at Highmark Inc. “By making these face coverings available, free of charge, to our Medicare members, Highmark is helping seniors feel more comfortable getting back to the care they need and activities they value most.”

In a recent survey conducted by Highmark, 87% of Medicare members rated having personal protective equipment (PPE) available to them as an important or extremely important factor in returning to their doctor’s office for non-urgent visits.

Members who have individual Highmark Medicare Advantage plans in Pennsylvania and West Virginia will be in the first phase of a multi-phase mailing for high-risk members. Highmark will also send masks to all Medicare Advantage retirees with coverage from their former employers and Medigap members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware, along with Affordable Care Act members, in the coming months.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Highmark Health Plan has taken many proactive measures through coverage expansions, increased options to access to care, support for its communities, providers and customers, and by providing resources to access help and information to ensure that our members, employees and communities are safe and can continue to receive care.

Through its provider partners such as Allegheny Health Network in Western Pennsylvania and health systems in other communities, Highmark has actively supported COVID-19 testing, with a focus on underserved communities through mobile units. Highmark also committed $2 million in grants to food insecurity, safety net providers and COVID-19 relief organizations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware.