NCQA awards 'Excellent' Accreditation and Quality Plus Distinction for
Member Connections
BLOOMFIELD, Conn., Dec. 6, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The National
Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has awarded CIGNA HealthCare's
commercial HMO and Point-of-Service (POS) health plans its highest
accreditation status of "Excellent" in 14 markets. The individual markets
underwent simultaneous quality reviews as part of CIGNA's national strategy
to provide members and clients with access to consistent, efficient,
high-quality services. As a result, all 14 health plans have been granted
accreditation for the next three years from the NCQA.
The CIGNA HealthCare plans surveyed from its Northeast region include
Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York and Pennsylvania. Plans surveyed from CIGNA HealthCare's Southeast
region include Georgia, Florida, Mid-Atlantic (Maryland, Washington, DC and
Virginia), North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.
In addition, each of the plans recently reviewed also received a
"Distinction" status for the NCQA's new Quality Plus "Member Connections"
program. This distinction measures the effectiveness of member online and
phone communications. These results provide external validation of the
strength of CIGNA's quality program in a number of areas, including an
online health risk appraisal and linkage to medical management, interactive
health tools and innovative technology. CIGNA sought and achieved this
voluntary review standard in recognition of the growing importance of
consumerism in health care.
"We are proud that the industry's leading accrediting organization has
recognized our ongoing dedication to disease management and prevention
programs and the overall health of our members," said Jeffrey Kang, MD,
chief medical director for CIGNA HealthCare. "These achievements validate
our commitment and strength in providing quality programs to our members
and ability to help them lead healthier lives. With results of this latest
survey, all 23 of CIGNA HealthCare HMO and POS accredited plans hold an
'Excellent' accreditation status."
"Excellent" accreditation is the highest designation given by the NCQA.
The NCQA Accreditation survey process includes on- and off-site evaluations
of over 60 standards and selected HEDIS(R) performance measures conducted
by a team of physicians and managed care experts. The survey evaluates how
well a health plan manages quality throughout every part of its delivery
system - physicians, hospitals, affiliated providers, and administrative
services.
"Achieving an accreditation status of 'Excellent' is a significant
achievement for a health plan," said Margaret E. O'Kane, president of NCQA.
"It is only awarded to those plans that both meet or exceed NCQA's rigorous
requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement and have
HEDIS(R) results in the highest range of national performance."
NCQA is the national organization established to review the quality and
medical management systems of HMOs and other managed care plans.
Accreditation by NCQA is a nationally recognized standard. The NCQA process
evaluates how well a health plan manages all aspects of its medical
delivery system and the extent to which it continuously improves health
care for its members, in addition to its relationships with medical
providers. There is no comparable independent standard for evaluating
fee-for-service and other types of health plans.
CIGNA HealthCare, headquartered in Bloomfield, CT, provides medical
benefits plans, dental coverage, behavioral health coverage, pharmacy
benefits, and products and services that integrate and analyze information
to support consumerism and health advocacy. "CIGNA HealthCare" refers to
various operating subsidiaries of CIGNA Corporation (NYSE: CI). Products
and services are provided by these operating subsidiaries and not by CIGNA
Corporation.
HEDIS(R) is a registered trademark of the National Committee for
Quality Assurance.
SOURCE CIGNA HealthCare
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Related links:
http://www.cigna.com
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CONTACT:
Patty Caballero, +1-201-533-5028,
patricia.caballero@cigna.com, or Karen Godlewski,
+1-215-761-1470, karen.godlewski@cigna.com, both of CIGNA
HealthCare
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