Blue Cross to Present the Faces of Fearless Healthcare Innovation Award with Not Impossible Labs

Association honors technological innovation in health and wellness as part of its Faces of Fearless℠ campaign

CHICAGO, Aug. 29, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) will present the Faces of Fearless Healthcare Innovation Award as part of the 2018 Not Impossible Awards show at CES® 2018 in Las Vegas.

The Faces of Fearless Healthcare Innovation Award is included in the Not Impossible Awards show and recognizes technological innovation that advances health and wellness. The award exemplifies the values of the Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Faces of Fearless℠ campaign, which celebrates the stories of people who are overcoming challenges to live their healthiest lives.

"Collaborating with Not Impossible Labs on the Faces of Fearless Healthcare Innovation Award underscores Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies' long-standing commitment to improve the health of America," said Scott Serota, president and CEO of BCBSA. "To transform our healthcare system and help people get healthy faster and stay healthy longer, we need to bring fresh ideas and inventive solutions to the marketplace. We are pleased to work with a visionary organization like Not Impossible to spur these new healthcare technologies."

Members of the Not Impossible Awards' Class of 2018 will receive mentorship, resources to incubate and accelerate their work and opportunities to grow through participation in strategic partnerships across the Not Impossible network. Not Impossible Labs will produce premium content focused on each recipient, telling the story of the impact they are making on the world, and celebrate the class of 2018 at an awards show event during CES^® 2018, which takes place Jan. 9 through Jan. 12, in Las Vegas, Nev.

To access the Not Impossible Awards submission form, and for more information on judging criteria submission guidelines, visit notimpossible.com/awards.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 36 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide health care coverage for one in three Americans. BCBSA provides health care insights through The Health of America Report series and the national BCBS Health Index^sm. For more information on BCBSA and its member companies, please visit BCBS.com. We also encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out our blog.

Mick EbelingAbout Not Impossible Labs

Launched in 2009, Not Impossible Labs (NI) crowd-solves issues of inability and inaccessibility through Technology for the Sake of Humanity and provide low-cost solutions that allow the most vulnerable among us to survive and thrive. Not Impossible Labs disrupts the status quo through a cycle of collaboration and impactful innovation paired with Help One, Help Many storytelling.

Not Impossible's initiatives each identify an absurdity in our modern world and then dedicate to making a difference for those impacted with a promise to Commit… Then Figure It Out. Through listening and deep discovery, Not Impossible develops a bold intention to address this absurdity and take ambitious action steps to make real impact in order to Make the Impossible, Not Impossible.

Not Impossible Labs has numerous initiatives, both in-development and active, that address absurdities ranging from hunger to educational inequity to degenerative disease and beyond. Initiatives to-date have included:

• The Eyewriter - Open source, low-cost, DIY devices that enable individuals with paralysis to communicate and create using only the movement of their eyes.
• Project Daniel & DOAP (The Department of Accessible Prosthetics) - Radically accessible prosthetics, from labs in the South Sudan allowing communities to 3D-print custom prostheses to low-cost kits allowing for access and customization of prostheses without electricity.
• Music: Not Impossible - A wireless ecosystem including hardware, software and wearables that creates a vibrational interpretation of musical, auditory, or programmable rhythms and cues across the skin. Created to allow the deaf and hard of hearing to experience live music with no discernable latency, Not Impossible Labs has identified broad applications of this technology, from creative and artistic undertakings to medical technology that can augment the abilities of those with sensory disorders.

Not Impossible Labs has been awarded Cannes Lions, CLIO Awards, SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards, Telly Awards, and numerous other honors for both technology and creative work.

Learn more at www.notimpossible.com

About Founder Mick Ebeling

A recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award & listed as one of the most influential creative people by The Creativity 50's, Mick Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation; harvesting the power of technology & story to change the world. Ebeling founded Not Impossible Labs, a multiple award-winning social innovation lab & production company, on the premise that nothing is impossible. His mantra of 'commit, then figure it out' allows him to convene a disparate team of hackers, doers, makers and thinkers to create devices that better the world by bringing accessibility for all. Ebeling's style of fearless innovation has resulted in disruptive technological development across multiple industries & inspired collaboration around the world.

SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield Association