Transaction brings total investment in low-income urban and rural
underserved communities to more than $200 million.
WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Oct. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross) announced today that a recent $10.6 million investment in community clinics in northern Kern County brings its total investment in rural underserved and low-income urban communities to more than $202 million through its Investment in a Healthy California Program (IHCP).
Blue Cross, through the IHCP, has invested in a diversified mix of healthcare providers, including hospitals, community clinics, long-term care facilities, mental health centers and drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities. Blue Cross has invested in three of California's Critical Access Hospitals, five hospitals that have been designated as Disproportionate Share Hospitals and has launched a program designed to help small healthcare facilities - such as community clinics - access the benefits of tax-exempt bond financing tools normally leveraged by larger organizations.
Blue Cross' investments in these facilities and the communities they support have allowed providers to expand access or improve services through additions, renovations or retrofitting. Additionally, these investments provide the opportunity to reduce operating costs so small healthcare facilities can improve their overall financial stability by refinancing old, expensive debt.
"This investment not only marks our commitment to the merger undertakings, but more importantly our quest to ensure all Californians have access to world-class healthcare," said Brian A. Sassi, president of Blue Cross. "The innovative Investment in a Healthy California Program is a unique partnership with our regulators and the IHCP advisory board to strengthen the health delivery system in our state."
Blue Cross' recent investment was $10.6 million in National Health
Services, Inc. (NHSI), a California nonp
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