The Arizona We Want 2.0

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1 The Arizona We Want 2.0 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is Arizona s largest locallybased health insurance company. Founded in 1939, BCBSAZ is a not-for-profit tax-paying organization that provides health insurance products, services and health care networks to 1.3 million individuals. With offices in Phoenix, the East Valley, Flagstaff and Tucson, we employ more than 1,300 Arizonans. It is our MISSION to provide the best value in health insurance and improve the quality of life for Arizonans. By investing in our community, BCBSAZ helps to make Arizona an attractive and vibrant state where we all can thrive. The initiatives and activities mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of BCBSAZ s commitment to the community and to the state. As we celebrate 75 years of service to Arizona, we are pleased and honored to support The Arizona We Want 2.0. The goals of The Arizona We Want 2.0 are our goals, too.

2 BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOAL 1 Nearly 300 Teach For America corps members, recruited nationwide from the ranks of our most promising future leaders, are teaching in more than 90 of Arizona s highest need schools. They are joined by some 700 Teach For America alumni in Phoenix. Engaging students at Valley View Elementary School in Phoenix BCBSAZ s long time commitment to our work has been critical to growing our impact across the Valley. As a result of their generous support over the past decade, we have been able to grow the size of our teaching corps and alumni base and now are impacting the lives of over 20,000 children growing up in low income communities every day. - Lindsay Wheeler DeFrancisco Executive Director Teach For America - Phoenix Education Prepare Arizonans of all ages for the 21 st century workforce. Graduate high school students who are college-career ready. Align graduation requirements to national and international standards. Customize education to meet student goals. 19% of Arizonans rate their community highly for the quality of its public schools. BCBSAZ supports organizations that focus on early education and quality childcare, including Head Start, Chicanos Por La Causa, the Children s Action Alliance, and the Urban League. In the past year, BCBSAZ has enabled groups across the state to provide more than 25 higher education scholarships to deserving students. BCBSAZ supports a number of programs in the state s public universities and numerous educational foundations. BCBSAZ supported science, technology engineering and math (STEM) education through a SciEnTek grant to a teacher in Pima County. Teacher Ivan Yocum and his class at Doolen Middle School in Tucson receive the BCBSAZ award that recognizes their outstanding efforts in STEM. BCBSAZ supports higher education and reimburses its employees for education costs. Since 2012, our employees have received 22 college or graduate degrees. In addition, BCBSAZ provided 15 scholarships for BCBSAZ dependents in the past year. BCBSAZ is committed to the ongoing funding of a scholarship for 3 rd and 4 th year students of actuarial science at Arizona State University. BCBSAZ continues to look for ways to provide sustaining support for education. For example, we recently committed to covering the ongoing annual costs of NAU s Healthcare Library and Curriculum Resources, supporting the research needs of advanced health science students in Northern Arizona.

3 Building A Strong Labor Force BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOAL 2 UMOM New Day Centers, the largest shelter for families in Arizona, provide educational and workforce skills training that enable families to succeed as they transition to affordable housing. With support from BCBSAZ, UMOM continues to develop innovative workforce solutions. One example is the Helpings Café Catering & Market, where residents learn transferable skills, including barista skills, cashiering, customer service and food service. The café not only provides training and job readiness skills but creates revenue to allow UMOM to reinvest services for families in need. BCBSAZ is proud to support UMOM s career development programs that help individuals become and remain employed. Recent UMOM Food Service Graduate Job Creation Create quality jobs for all Arizonans. Increased job opportunities. Job training programs for Arizonans of all ages. Lower business taxes. More investments in renewable energy. 96% of Arizonans do not rate their community highly for economic conditions. 76% do not believe the next generation will have a higher standard of living than we have today. Statewide, BCBSAZ supports chambers of commerce and economic development organizations. Recently, BCBSAZ chaired a committee for the Tucson Regional Economic Organization (TREO) that shaped key recommendations for southern Arizona to become America s Healthiest Region, a key component of the region s 2014 Economic Blueprint Update. BCBSAZ provides ongoing support, including board service, to TGen (the Translational Genomics Research Institute) for its innovative work in health care research. BCBSAZ supports job skill development and employment training through organizations such as Arizona Women s Education & Employment (AWEE), UMOM, and Goodwill of Arizona. In addition to providing paid internships for high school and college students, BCBSAZ partners with the City of Phoenix to offer summer employment to more than a dozen at-risk youth - both high school and college students - in positions throughout the company. With more than 1,300 employees, BCBSAZ prides itself on attracting and retaining a strong, steady workforce with exceptional tenures of service. Learning job interview skills at AWEE BCBSAZ is committed to helping small businesses thrive and providing affordable health insurance to employees. BCBSAZ will offer health insurance options to small businesses on the small employer public health insurance exchange (SHOP) in 2015.

4 Blue Goes Green BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOALS 3 & 4 Environment & Infrastructure Protect Arizona s natural environment, water supplies and open spaces and build a modern, effective transportation system and infrastructure BCBSAZ launched a telework program for employees in 2008 that has grown to include 30% of its workforce. BCBSAZ has been called upon by various organizations to share best practices. Combined with the vanpool, ride-share and Compressed Work Week programs, telework helps reduce the company s carbon footprint while providing flexibility and improved quality of life to employees. BCBSAZ prides itself on its green facilities. Solar panels at the company s Phoenix headquarters have resulted in significant energy savings. Water conservation and recycling have become an important part of integrating environmental responsibility into our business practices. BCBSAZ strives to be a considerate energy consumer, running our data generators at off-peak times to take pressure off the energy grid for neighboring homes and businesses. And finally, BCBSAZ constructed a facility with state-of-the-art environmentally sound features to house its technology department. Water management plans for all regions of Arizona statewide, regional and municipal. Policies that balance population growth with preserving open space. Mass transit systems that connect communities throughout the urban regions of the state. New highways and roads to reduce congestion. Improvements in airports and rail systems to support trade. Statewide high-speed broadband. Of 14 features, Arizonans rate the state s natural beauty, outdoor parks and trails as its greatest assets. 22% of Arizonans rate their community highly for its highways and freeway system. BCBSAZ supports the Desert Botanical Garden, including the Central Arizona Conservation Alliance, a Five Communities project which will engage community members to study, restore and promote the desert mountain parks of metro Phoenix. BCBSAZ supports The Nature Conservancy, working with local communities across the state to protect our land and water. For more than a decade, BCBSAZ has made a significant commitment to going paperless, with over 94% of health insurance claims currently received electronically. In addition, over 50% of benefit statements are now electronic and 40% of our members receive their benefit books electronically. BCBSAZ is pleased to support the Fresh Express, a mobile market on wheels which makes fresh produce available to consumers in underserved areas. This initiative provides easy access to individuals to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables in their immediate neighborhood. BCBSAZ will partner with organizations that work to conserve and promote our desert environment, ranging from seed bank collection to environmental clean-up.

5 Reaching Out to the Community Through our newly created Community Outreach Unit, BCBSAZ is working with several community organizations to educate individuals about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and improve health literacy. Some of the groups we partner with include: Wells Fargo BCBSAZ participates in the bilingual Hands on Banking and financial literacy program Fresh Start Women s Foundation BCBSAZ conducted workshops to assist Fresh Start in better serving their clients St. Mary s Food Bank Alliance BCBSAZ participates in the Community Kitchen curriculum and life skills program. BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOAL 5 Healthcare Provide health insurance for all, with payment assistance for those who need it. Health insurance that is publicly available to all Arizonans with payment assistance for those who need it. Healthcare discounts for people who adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors. More doctors and healthcare professionals to provide primary healthcare services. Only 23% of Arizonans rate their community highly for accessible healthcare. In partnership with CPLC and the Hispanic Women s Corporation, BCBSAZ developed Los Medicos, a scholarship program for medical students at the University of Arizona. BCBSAZ also funds a scholarship through Northern Arizona University for nurse practitioners willing to practice in rural Arizona. BCBSAZ leaders serve on many government task forces and public coalitions to improve the state of healthcare in Arizona. One such effort is The Arizona Partnership for Immunization (TAPI), whose goal is to ensure Arizonans receive immunizations. BCBSAZ Staff at the CPLC Health & Wellness Fair BCBSAZ supported efforts to expand access to affordable, quality health care for Arizonans by playing an advisory role to all parties during the recent legislative process that ended with the expansion of Medicaid. BCBSAZ educated consumers throughout the state about the ACA, partnering with Chicanos Por la Causa (CPLC) and other local groups to develop awareness. BCBSAZ was among the first organizations to support a statewide infrastructure for health care providers to share electronic health information. BCBSAZ actively supports Arizona Health-e Connection (AzHEC ) and the Health Information Network of Arizona (HINAZ). BCBSAZ supports primary care physicians through innovative arrangements that allow them to earn additional compensation for delivering quality care. BCBSAZ will broaden educational efforts to ensure more Arizonans are aware of the coverage options available to them through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. BCBSAZ will continue to support legislative initiatives that contain costs for Arizonans and maintain state control over health insurance, and will serve as a trusted advisor for state and federal officials as we move forward with healthcare reform.

6 Be A Leader Foundation As a founding donor and the very first corporate sponsor for Be A Leader Foundation (BALF), BCBSAZ has been committed to the ongoing success of this growing organization from day one. BALF s President/CEO Gary Trujillo noted: BCBSAZ provided essential support in helping us move BALF from a family foundation to a 501(c)3 many years ago. This was a Sidebar significant Success step Story forward in allowing us to grow and serve more youth. BCBSAZ has been there every step of the way, with funding as well as hands-on support. Rich Boals and other leaders at BCBSAZ have personally supported and mentored many of our program graduates. As an indication of our gratitude for the many years of support, a group of us are funding a scholarship through ASU s Hispanic Business Student Association in Rich s name. Mike Trejo, BALF Alumni, at his graduation with mentors Rich Boals, BCBSAZ President & CEO and Gary Trujillo, BALF President & CEO. Mike received a dual degree in an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School. BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOAL 6 Young Talent Make Arizona the place to be for talented young people. Quality jobs. More places where young people can gather. Protection for the environment. Culture of openness and opportunity for all. Only 6% of young Arizonans believe their community offers good job opportunities. 19% rate their community highly for its nightlife; 20% believe it s a good place to meet people. 42% give high marks to Arizona s open spaces. Young Arizonans believe leaders need to be willing to listen. BCBSAZ supports a wide variety of arts and culture organizations, from the Flagstaff Symphony to the Tucson Museum of Art. Many of these investments have multiple benefits. For example, in addition to adding historic richness to the community, the Heard Museum serves as a launching pad for young Native American artists. As the state s youthful Hispanic population continues to grow, BCBSAZ provides funding and program support to groups including AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute, the ASU Hispanic Business Student Association and the Hispanic Women s Conference. BCBSAZ supports Phoenix Day, an early education and youth center in South Phoenix, with a technology sponsorship that includes 12 new computers, charging station, tables, chairs, WIFI and educational software to be used during the summer youth program and by afterschool students throughout the year. Providing access to a computer lab outside of school hours enriches and builds upon knowledge gained in the classroom, especially for students who may not have access at home. This is particularly important for today s youth as they are preparing to compete in a society driven by scientific and technological innovations. Long term, BCBSAZ s contribution will support a more educated workforce prepared to compete in the global market. - Karyn Parker, Executive Director, Phoenix Day BCBSAZ is committed to creating an environment that fosters young Arizonans and enhances the attractiveness of our state through investments in schools, and arts and cultural organizations.

7 ***************** Arizona Town Hall ***************** BCBSAZ has been a long-time supporter of Arizona Town Hall for their efforts to promote public dialogue about important state issues and build consensus through its members for creative solutions. Rich Boals, President and CEO of BCBSAZ notes, What I appreciate most about Arizona Town Hall is that you can count on hearing perspectives from all professions, from all corners of the state it may be from a school administrator, a rancher, a legislator, a farmer, a lawyer or a teacher. In the end, you ll have a 360-degree view of issues that affect every aspect of living and working in Arizona: water rights, education, and healthcare, to name a few. Rich Boals receives the 2014 Shirley Agnos Legacy Award from J. Scott Rhodes, Arizona Town Hall Board Chair, as Shirley Agnos looks on. BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOAL 7 Civic Engagement Empower citizens and increase civic engagement. Increasing citizenship participation in all aspects of citizenship. Leaders who understand complex issues and work across party lines. 10% of Arizonans believe that elected officials represent their interests. 24% believe the next generation will have a better standard of living than we have today. BCBSAZ supports Valley Leadership, with the conviction that helping young professionals engage with each other and with key community issues is a win/win for Arizona. BCBSAZ supports the principles of civil discourse of the O Connor House and helps enable this important Arizona institution through funding and board membership. BCBSAZ supports the Joe Foss Institute, helping to fund civics lessons in K-12 schools. BCBSAZ is a long-time supporter of the Anti- Defamation League, as part of its commitment to broaden diversity and build coalitions in communities. With input from the ASU Center for Race and Democracy, we plan to develop a diversity council for our employees, building on the strength of diversity already present within our organization. Continue to support community activities that promote civic engagement on all levels and encourage the development of responsible government leaders. BCBSAZ supports Valley Leadership and the opportunities they provide to learn about community issues. Nine BCBSAZ staff members are graduates of Valley Leadership s flagship program, the VL Institute.

8 Veteran Gets New Home BCBSAZ RESPONSE TO THE ARIZONA WE WANT GOAL 8 Community Involvement Foster citizen well-being and sense of connection to one another. When the 42 year old mobile home owned by disabled veteran Gabriel and Elizabeth Barreda of Sahuarita Heights was beyond repair, Habitat for Humanity secured a donation of a nearly new mobile home for them. The next challenge was to move the new home to the site and haul the old one to the landfill, a costly proposition. BCBSAZ stepped up and paid for the move including painting, minor repairs, landscaping and fees to turn on the utilities. Several BCBSAZ employees in Tucson helped paint, landscape and get the home ready for occupancy. This effort is part of a statewide BCBSAZ campaign to commemorate 75 years in business and to acknowledge and support those organizations that work to improve the lives of Arizonans. Gabriel Barreda, proud new home owner, summed it up: How do we express our gratitude? The community has just come through for us in so many ways. A deeper sense of community connection. More neighborliness. 25% believe Arizona is a good place to meet people. 37% believe they are treated with respect at all times in their community. Each year, approximately 30 BCBSAZ executives serve on more than 70 boards for non-profit organizations. The employee-driven Cares Club continues to keep the BCBSAZ heritage of service alive and has dedicated thousands of dollars and volunteer hours to a wide variety of local charities. Employees help feed the homeless In response to a recent initiative, 57 employees participated in the HandsOn Greater Phoenix Serve-A-Thon in three separate community events. BCBSAZ supports groups that help our youth: Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys and Girls Clubs and the Girl Scout Councils. BCBSAZ supports organizations working to improve Arizonans health and quality of life: the Banner Alzheimer Institute, the Southwest Center for HIV and the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC). BCBSAZ launched the award winning Walk On! Campaign, which has become part of the national campaign to reduce childhood obesity. Now in its ninth year, more than 70,000 Arizona students have completed the WalkOn! Challenge. BCBSAZ is a strong supporter of Valley of the Sun United Way, reaching the $1 million mark in contributions every year since In 2013, BCBSAZ was ranked #1 in its size category for employee and corporate giving. BCBSAZ continues to look for opportunities to support local neighborhoods and community groups. We are committed to remaining a local, independent Blue plan with strong roots in Phoenix and Arizona.