We believe Bridges to Excellence will raise the quality of care for our members and State Health Plan members, as well as make a difference in the fight to reduce health-care costs.

Partnering with the Community Practitioner Program is an important step we can take today to have an immediate and direct impact. The program will also improve the delivery of preventive care, which we consider essential to managing overall health care costs more effectively.

If you can imagine getting the flu and having to drive an hour to the nearest doctor or health care provider, or imagine having a sick child with no insurance and no resources to pay for the doctor visit. These are very real things in a lot of areas of North Carolina.

We believe that this will generate about $50 million in care for the uninsured alone. If we're able to do that, that's a five-for-one return on the investment of this foundation grant.

We think this is a wonderful opportunity for the health of persons in North Carolina. We believe this new partnership between the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation and the North Carolina Medical Society Foundation will make a real difference in the lives of North Carolinians.

We believe so strongly that it will improve prescription accuracy and lower prescription drug costs for all North Carolinians, that we are investing in its adoption among the medical practices most likely to benefit from it.