Horizon

Horizon BCBSNJ stands alone offering you the continuity, experience, stability and commitment you deserve from a health care company. We have been successfully meeting the health care needs of our customers since 1934. We offer the health care alternatives you're looking for, including a full range of coverage plans, and access to the region's premier provider.

In 2000, we experienced yet another year of strong, profitable growth and solid accomplishments. We also grew our enrollment for the sixth consecutive year, adding 143,000 new members to reach a total membership of over 2.4 million members. In addition, our financial reserves have risen to the highest in the company's history.

This gives us tremendous value in contracting with providers, achieving favorable pricing arrangements, representing our members concerns regarding health care policy issues, and positively influencing how health care is delivered in our service area.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's Horizon HMO commercial managed care plan has once again received Commendable Accreditation for a three-year period from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), signifying that the plan's performance meets the most stringent quality standards in the health care industry.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey also has relationships with a variety of businesses to provide discounts and savings on products and services for which you might otherwise pay retail prices. Some of the products and services include:
Cole Vision, Davis Vision, IBM, USGTF, SafeTech, and Vitamins.com.

 

Ratings

Standard & Poor's, the nation's leading credit rating firm, has upgraded its rating of Horizon BCBSNJ and our HMO subsidiary, Horizon Healthcare of New Jersey, Inc., to an "A-" with a "positive" outlook. It is the fifth consecutive year that we have received an upgrade from S&P.

A rating of A- reflects Horizon BCBSNJ's improving financial strength, marked by a steady increase in both membership and reserves.

Our strengths, as cited by Standard & Poor's, include:

• A leading market position statewide, covering more than 30 percent of the total insured population in New Jersey, and continued membership growth at a stable rate;
• A competitive edge in our marketplace due to our statewide networks, brand strength, strong service capabilities, and investments in managed care;
• An improved operating performance for 2000 due in part to continued member growth;