Continued Success in the DC Market
Mike Felber, Sr. Vice President, Sales reflected on the continuing success that CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield (CareFirst) is experiencing in the 2-50 market. "Leading with a strong array of products, BluePreferred and CareFirst BlueChoice (BlueChoice), we have had outstanding performance over the past 24 months in increasing the small group market net growth. I am especially thankful to the broker community for this accomplishment," said Felber.
The successful launch of BlueChoice and BluePreferred products in Maryland has kicked-off the increase in Maryland small group sales. Introducing BlueChoice to the Maryland brokers last summer at our Broker Forum ignited the increase in sales in the last quarter of 2001.
According to Mike Felber, "the January 2002 introduction of BluePreferred in Maryland now gives brokers a strong product combination to offer their small group prospective clients across the entire region in which we operate. In 2002 we're already off to a great start with January broker sales production for BlueChoice in MD surpassing the last quarter production of 2001." This stellar performance is indicative of what to expect in 2002.
Growth in the Large Group Market
Brokers were very active in the large group market as well -- selling in excess of 20,000 new contracts in 2001. As the BluePreferred/ BlueChoice product combinations become available in the Maryland market for large groups, brokers will have a strong product line to offer to their large group customers. It is a win-win combination for the broker community and CareFirst is expecting record sales from the broker community in 2002.