The demand for social services in the First State is increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Delaware’s largest insurance provider hopes its new online network will help meet those needs.
Highmark Delaware is launching a new online network called Aunt Bertha. It features a directory of nearby community benefits organizations to meet those needs.
Highmark Delaware president Nick Moriello said it directs members to local services such as food, transportation, and housing.
“Aunt Bertha helps kind of connects the dots and shows folks where all of those resources that they may not have been aware of are,” Moriello said. “Or even if they were aware of them, they may not have been quite as familiar with how to navigate those services for an optimal experience.”
Moriello said Highmark and other organizations had been working on Aunt Bertha for a while, but accelerated the launch in response to the outbreak.
“We felt we could really touch quite a few people rapidly,” Moriello said. “We wanted to release it across all of our membership whether they be Medicaid members or fully insured customers or customers throughout our platforms.”
Moriello hopes it helps compliment other efforts to connect people to needed services like Delaware 211. Customers have free access to Aunt Bertha. They can go online and type their zip code to find the services in their area.