FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Sept. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- For the second year running, Care Choices HMO has been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as among the top five health plans in the East North Central Region of the U.S., for clinical performance based on HEDIS(R) Effectiveness of Care measures. NCQA's East North Central Region includes 68 health plans in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin. Care Choices was once again the only plan in Michigan to be recognized. This recognition comes on the heels of news earlier this month that Care Choices received four stars -- the highest rating available -- in each of the five categories of the NCQA Health Plan Report Card: Access and Service; Qualified Providers; Staying Healthy; Getting Better; and Living With Illness. Care Choices has held NCQA's highest accreditation status of "Excellent" for four years.
NCQA publicly reports comparative results of health plans regionally and nationally in its annual Quality Compass(R) report. The 2004 report includes data from 262 health plans across the nation. Care Choices HMO rated among the top 10 percent of health plans in the nation on the following measures:
* Rating of health plan
* Handling claims correctly
* Breast cancer screening
* Antidepressant medication management (practitioner contacts and acute
phase treatment)
* Comprehensive diabetes care (LDL-C controlled and monitoring for
diabetic nephropathy)
* Advising smokers to quit
Care Choices also received "Best in Class" designation for "health plan performance that NCQA believes represents a benchmark" for all other health plans, in two areas of HEDIS: comprehensive diabetes care (LDL-C controlled); and breast cancer screening.
"This recognition by NCQA is a testament to the ongoing commitment of our employees and physician partners to providing excellent care and service to our members," said William R. Alvin, President and CEO of Care Choices. "Our vision is to make a difference in the health and well being of the lives we touch. The fact that NCQA has once again recognized our HEDIS Effectiveness of Care measures as the best in Michigan indicates we are doing so, and is very rewarding."
Care Choices HMO also achieved the highest ratings of health plans in Southeast Michigan on key measures of member satisfaction. Of the health plans serving Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne counties, Care Choices HMO received the highest member ratings in the categories of:
* rating of health plan * rating of health care * getting needed care * getting care quickly * rating of specialist seen most often * courteous/helpful office staff
Additionally, members were asked to rate their likelihood to re-enroll in the plan and to recommend it to others. Among Care Choices members, 94 percent indicated that they plan to re-enroll, and 89 percent said they would be likely or very likely to recommend the plan to others.
"A key driver of member satisfaction is the involvement and commitment of physicians," said Gilbert Burgos, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer of Care Choices. "We are proud of the strong relationships we have with our provider partners. Together we're committed to helping all members improve their health and to providing a consistent, positive experience," said Burgos.
About Care Choices
Care Choices is a nonprofit healthcare organization and a subsidiary of Trinity Health, one of the nation's leading providers of health care services. Since 1986, Care Choices has been providing quality health care to thousands of members throughout Southeast Michigan. Care Choices offers a broad, fully integrated network of physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals all sharing a strong commitment to improving the health status of the communities we serve by delivering effective and affordable health care. Care Choices HMO maintains the highest rating available of "Excellent" by the National Committee for Quality Assurance and holds a B+ financial- strength rating from A.M. Best Co. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.carechoices.com/ .
About NCQA
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is a private, not-for- profit organization dedicated to assessing and reporting on the quality of managed care plans. NCQA's mission is to provide information that enables purchasers and consumers of managed health care to distinguish among plans based on quality, thereby allowing them to make more informed health care purchasing decisions. For more information, visit http://www.ncqa.org/ .
The source for data contained in this publication is Quality Compass(R) 2004 and is used with the permission of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Any analysis, interpretation or conclusion based on this data is solely that of the authors, and the NCQA specifically disclaims responsibility for any such analysis, interpretation or conclusion. Quality Compass and HEDIS are registered trademarks of the NCQA.
Care Choices HMOCONTACT: Ellen Downey, APR of Care Choices HMO, +1-248-489-6358,downeye@trinity-health.org
