MetroPlus, HHC’s Health Plan, Ranked #1 in Quality by New York State

NEW YORK, Feb. 2 -- The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation issued the following news release:

MetroPlus Health Plan, Inc., the 400,000 member Medicaid Managed Care health plan of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), has been ranked #1 by the Division of Quality Improvement of the New York State Department of Health, under its Quality Incentive Awards Program. This incentive was created with the goal of improving the care provided to Medicaid recipients by Managed Care Plans such as MetroPlus. This new achievement makes MetroPlus Health Plan the #1 plan in the State of New York based on quality of services and customer satisfaction.

According to the latest report, in 2011, MetroPlus was ranked as the best Medicaid Managed Health Care Plan in New York State, among over 15 public and private managed care plans, reaching the maximum score of 100 quality points and becoming the only plan in the State to achieve the maximum reward offered by this program. The list of quality incentive measures includes indicators for preventive, prenatal, chronic, behavioral health and pediatric areas.

"MetroPlus Health Plan has always been focused on providing the highest quality, customer oriented care to our members," said MetroPlus President & CEO, Dr. Arnold Saperstein. "I am very pleased that the plan has achieved the highest level of recognition from the State of New York."

MetroPlus' quality was measured by comparing the quality of services and care provided in areas such as; healthy children regular doctor's appointments for ages 0 through 15 months and 3 to 6 years; breast cancer screenings, frequency of ongoing prenatal care of 81% or higher, use of appropriate medications for people with asthma, controlling high blood pressure in patients, cervical cancer screenings, diabetes care and HIV/AIDS comprehensive care and patient engagement.

"Our quality standards are based on a model of care that offers members individualized care management coordination. This model allows MetroPlus members to receive all the attention and care they need from a high quality network of providers, health educators, and care management specialists working together for the health and well being of each and every member," said Dr. Van Dunn, MetroPlus Chief Medical Officer.

The scoring of this program was also impacted by the most recent Member Satisfaction survey conducted by New York State through the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. Additionally, measurements that quantify hospital admissions that could have been prevented through high-quality outpatient care were included in the rating.

MetroPlus' Quality Incentive top ranking has secured the corporation the maximum incentive award that can be achieved by any plan with a 2.5% premium increase per member, per month. MetroPlus plans to reinvest this revenue in Quality Incentive programs to continue in their commitment to providing NYS sponsored free or low cost high quality health insurance to all New Yorkers.

MetroPlus has also been ranked #1 for six out of the past seven years in New York City for overall quality and customer satisfaction, as reported in the NYC Medicaid Consumer Guide 2011.

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