For more than 65 years, millions of consumers in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Delaware have relied on their local Blue Cross Blue Shield companies for their health care coverage. Over the past five years, those three Blues Plans, all with proud histories, have joined forces as a combined company that now serves more than 3.2 million members and employs 6,500 associates in five states and the District of Columbia. It was a bold move that has made CareFirst the Mid-Atlantic region’s leading health care insurer.

We took an even bolder step 16 months ago with our proposal to become a for-profit company and to partner with WellPoint Health Networks, a nationally respected, for-profit health insurer which already operates Blues Plans in California, Georgia and Missouri. The transaction would have opened new sources of funding that we planned to invest in new and improved products and services, while creating at least $1.37 billion in charitable trusts that elected officials could have used to address unmet health care needs. While CareFirst’s Board and executive leadership firmly believed that our proposal would have produced long-term benefits for our customers and the communities in which we operate, it is clear that regulators and legislators in Maryland will not accept such fundamental changes to CareFirst’s structure.

As we have in the past, CareFirst will make the appropriate adjustments resulting from this decision as well as legislative changes in our governance, accountability and mission with one goal uppermost in our mind – continuing to serve our customers and providing value for their health care dollar. Whatever changes may occur, we will still be your local Blues Plan and we will continue to do whatever we can to earn your trust and loyalty.

And, we certainly are not standing still. For example, this year CareFirst will extend its service hours to evenings and Saturdays. We are offering new consumer choices, such as an innovative HMO Opt-Out product that allows members to visit specialists without a referral, and a new dental product. We also are investing in state-of-the-art call centers in Owings Mills, Washington, D.C. and Wilmington, Delaware to provide better customer service. In short, CareFirst will continue to yield the best of both worlds – the business discipline and expertise needed to offer customers value, quality service and financial strength coupled with a continuing commitment to serving the community in meaningful and creative ways. We want you to know that CareFirst will be there for you now and in the future.