How Blue Cross is Supporting Michigan’s Health Care Safety Net
Lindsay Knake
| 3 min read
Lindsay Knake is a brand journalist for Blue Cross B...
Key Takeaways
- Since 2005, Blue Cross has contributed more than $17 million in Strengthening the Safety Net grants, making it the largest private donor to Michigan’s free and charitable clinics.
- The grants have helped clinics serve more than 250,000 uninsured or underinsured patients, delivering more than two million visits, averting about 400,000 unnecessary ER trips and saving the state an estimated $200 million.
- Safety net clinics help to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations and reduce emergency room visits and uncompensated care costs, which affect insurance premiums for everyone.
As health care costs rise, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is working to strengthen the capacity of the health care safety net.
Through partnership, resources and support, Blue Cross works to make health care more accessible and affordable for everyone. Learn more about our commitment to high quality, affordable care.
How Strengthening the Safety Net helps Michiganians
Blue Cross has a historic commitment to safety net health care providers in Michigan through the Strengthening the Safety Net (SSN) grant program. Each year, Blue Cross provides grants that offer a lifeline for the clinics and the patients who rely on them, and the number of patients is likely to increase in the future. However, our partnership with safety net clinics goes far beyond the dollars we have invested in SSN grants.
We know access to high-quality health care improves the lives of individuals, families and communities. Since 2005, Blue Cross has awarded more than $17 million in SSN grants to Michigan free and charitable clinics and has been the largest private donor to these clinics.
Free and charitable clinics treat everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. They provide medical, dental and behavioral health care directly or by referral. They also provide prescription assistance and help patients navigate health care and insurance enrollment.
With the help of SSN grants, clinics across the state have provided care to more than 250,000 uninsured or underinsured patients and more than two million patient visits. These services have helped to avoid more than 400,000 unnecessary emergency room visits and saved more than $200 million for Michigan’s health care system.
Having health care accessible through safety net clinics benefits everyone. By helping patients prevent and manage chronic conditions and identity health issues earlier, safety net clinics help to improve health outcomes for vulnerable populations and reduce emergency room visits and uncompensated care costs, which affect insurance premiums.
Partnership with safety net clinics
For Blue Cross, however, partnership is not limited to providing grant funding. Each year at our safety net health care symposia, Blue Cross brings all types of safety net health care providers together to build relationships and share resources.
The 2025 Safety Net Health Care Connections meeting featured training on change management approaches that build resilience, led by a consulting team from Blue Cottage of CannonDesign. Grantees also walked away with resources to help patients maintain Medicaid coverage; improve the care they provide for people with disabilities, obtain no cost cancer medication and prevent drug overdoses.
Blue Cross also works with safety net clinics to maintain quality assurance plans and develop a directory of local resources to help patients meet their needs for tangible support, outside of what the clinics can provide.
These are among the many ways that Blue Cross supports our safety net partners. At Blue Cross, we are trusted partners of our members and Michigan safety net health care providers.
Image: Getty Images
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