Newsroom | News Releases

Greater focus on social impacts on health  

CHICAGO — Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) has invested more than $5.8 million in 145 community organizations in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas this year as part of its Healthy Kids, Healthy Families^® (HKHF) grant program.

The grant program has evolved since its inception more than a decade ago, when it was designed to reach children and their families through nonprofit organizations focused on nutrition, education, physical activity programs, disease prevention and management or supporting safe environments.

For 2022, the program expanded and accepted applications from organizations supporting social and community context, economic opportunity and stability, and neighborhood and built environments.

“We’ve focused our giving to be even more inclusive of the social factors outside of traditional health care that can have a strong impact on the health of people in our geographies,” said Clarita Santos, executive director of corporate and civic partnerships for HCSC. “Our giving is designed to support regional partners who best understand the needs of their constituents and are making a real difference in improving population health.”

For details on 2022 HKHF grant recipients visit:

• Illinois Community Investments
• Montana Community Investments
• New Mexico Community Investments
• Oklahoma Community Investments
• Texas Community Investments

The Healthy Kids, Healthy Families grant program is just one part of HCSC’s overall community investment strategy, which is aligned under an umbrella mission of expanding access to care.

Moving forward, HCSC’s grant funding will fall into five newly redesigned strategic pillars that the company believes are key ways to support access to care:

• Economic Opportunity and Stability: Recognizing the connection a person’s socioeconomic status has on their health, HCSC will seek to invest around issues such as poverty, removing barriers to employment, providing good jobs and upskilling.
• Nutrition:  Supporting efforts to decrease hunger and increase access to nutritional food.
• Neighborhood and Built Environment: This pillar focuses on the connection between where a person lives and their health and wellbeing. Giving efforts will focus on affordable healthy housing, access to transportation and access to physical activity.
• Locally-Defined Health Solutions: Each community faces unique health challenges. This pillar will support hyperlocal health and human service needs.
• Optimal Health Outcomes:  HCSC is focused on closing gaps in care, specifically around six priority areas:
  • Immunizations
  • Diabetes Care
  • Cardiovascular Care
  • Behavioral Health
  • Early Detection Cancer Screening
  • Maternal & Infant Health

Learn more about how Health Care Service Corporation is making a difference in the HCSC Corporate Social Responsibility Report, which highlights the impact of the company’s total 2021 charitable giving of more than $22 million.

###

About Health Care Service Corporation
Health Care Service Corporation is the country's largest customer-owned health insurer, with nearly 17.5 million members in its health plans in Illinois, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. A Mutual Legal Reserve Company, HCSC is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. 

Media Contact

Colleen Miller
Colleen_Miller@hcsc.net