Nondiscrimination Notice

Discrimination is Against the Law

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and its subsidiaries, HMO Louisiana, Inc. and Southern National Life Insurance Company, Inc., does not exclude people or treat them differently on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex in its health programs or activities.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and its subsidiaries:

• Provide free aids and services to people with disabilities to communicate effectively with us, such as:
  • Qualified sign language interpreters
  • Written information in other formats (audio, accessible electronic formats)
• Provide free language services to people whose primary language is not English, such as:
  • Qualified interpreters
  • Information written in other languages

If you need these services, you can call the Customer Service number on the back of your ID card or email MeaningfulAccessLanguageTranslation@bcbsla.com. If you are hearing impaired call 1-800-711-5519 (TTY 711).

If you believe that Blue Cross, one of its subsidiaries or your employer-insured health plan has failed to provide these services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex, you have the right to take the following steps:

1. If you are fully insured through Blue Cross, file a grievance with Blue Cross by mail, fax, or email.
   
   Section 1557 Coordinator
   P. O. Box 98012
   Baton Rouge, LA 70898-9012
   225-298-7238 or 1-800-711-5519 (TTY 711)
   Fax: 225-298-7240
   Email: Section1557Coordinator@bcbsla.com
2. If your employer owns your health plan and Blue Cross administers the plan, contact your employer or your company’s Human Resources Department. To determine if your plan is fully insured by Blue Cross or owned by your employer, go to www.bcbsla.com/checkmyplan.

Whether Blue Cross or your employer owns your plan, you can file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights by mail or phone at:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
1-800-368-1019, 800-537-7697 (TDD)

Or

Electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/portal/lobby.jsf. Complaint forms are available at http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/office/file/index.html.