Blue Cross and Blue Shield of VT receives highest accreditations

A national quality review organization has awarded Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) its highest level of accreditation for both its managed care and preferred provider organization (PPO) product lines, the company announced today.
The awards position BCBSVT as the only health plan serving Vermont that has received the highest level of accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for both managed care and PPO products. NCQA is an independent, non-profit organization that assesses and reports on the quality of the nations managed care plans. Accreditation status -- the highest possible level -- is based on a voluntary review of how a health plan ensures that its members are receiving high quality care.
BCBSVT received an Excellent rating for its VHP and TVHP managed care benefit plans, and Full Accreditation for its Freedom Plan PPO benefit plans. A PPO offers more flexibility than HMO style managed care plans by allowing visits to out-of-network professionals at a greater expense to the member.
Achieving an accreditation status of Excellent is a significant achievement for a health plan, said Margaret E. OKane, president of NCQA. It is only awarded to those plans that both meet or exceed NCQAs rigorous requirements for consumer protection and quality improvement and have HEDISâ results in the highest range of national performance.
The NCQA Accreditation survey process includes on and off-site evaluations of over 60 standards and selected HEDIS performance measures conducted by a team of physicians and managed care experts. A committee of physicians analyzes the teams finding and assigns an accreditation level based on the performance level of the plan being evaluated to NCQAs standards.
We are an organization committed to continuous quality improvement, and I believe that has been validated by NCQA, said William R. Milnes, Jr., President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont. Each of our employees, providers and management contributed to the NCQA Accreditation process in some way, so we are extremely proud of this achievement.
This Accreditation tells our members that the care they receive and the physicians who provide that care meet or exceed the industrys highest standards of quality, said Don George, Vice President of Managed Health Systems. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont and The Vermont Health Plan have a long and proud tradition of providing high-quality care. Receiving objective recognition of that is rewarding for all of us.
The NCQA Accreditation process evaluates how well a health plan manages quality throughout every part of its delivery system -- physicians, hospitals, affiliated providers, and administrative services -- to continuously improve health care for its members.
More than three-quarters of Americans enrolled in HMOs are in plans that have been reviewed by NCQA and many employers are now mandating accreditation of the plans they offer their employees. No comparable evaluation exists for fee-for-service health care.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is the state's oldest and largest private health insurer, providing coverage for about 180,000 Vermonters. It employs over 350 Vermonters at its headquarters in Berlin and branch office in Williston, and offers group and individual health plans to Vermonters. More information about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is available on the Internet at www.bcbsvt.com. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont is an independent corporation operating under a license with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans.
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