Anthem Blue Cross’ Medicare Advantage HMO Plans in California Receive 4.5-Star Rating from CMS

Diabetes Week

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Diabetes Week -- Anthem Blue Cross (Anthem) announced that heading into next year, Anthem's 2018 Medicare Advantage HMO plans will be rated 4.5 stars - with five stars being the best rating - by the Medicare Star Ratings program issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Anthem offers these plans in 21 counties throughout California. Recently, CMS released its latest Star Ratings, which gives health plans scores for the quality and performance of their services (see also Health Maintenance Organizations).

"Anthem's continued commitment to giving our members access to high-quality, affordable health care is one of the main reasons our plans achieved high Star Ratings this year," said Josh Martin, president of Anthem's Medicare West region. "We are grateful for our network of providers who collaborate with us to ensure that we're delivering the quality and performance members expect from their health plan. We will continue to work with our members to ensure we are providing them with the benefits they want, in order to meet their health care and lifestyle needs."

Anthem MediBlue Plus (HMO); Anthem MediBlue Select (HMO); Anthem Value Plus (HMO; Anthem StartSmart (HMO); Anthem Touch (HMO SNP); Anthem Diabetes, Heart, & Breathe (HMO SNP); Anthem ESRD (HMO SNP); Anthem MediBlue Dual Advantage (HMO SNP); Anthem MediBlue Coordination Plus (HMO); and Anthem Connect Plus (HMO) received 4.5 stars from CMS. Below is a list of the counties where each plan is available, with some plans having eligibility requirements: Anthem MediBlue Plus (HMO): Fresno, Kern, Kings, Orange, Los Angeles, Madera, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, Tulare, Ventura, and Yolo counties. Anthem MediBlue Select (HMO): Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Francisco counties. Anthem Value Plus (HMO): Los Angeles, Orange, San Benito, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Stanislaus counties. Anthem StartSmart (HMO): Los Angeles, Orange, San Benito, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, and Stanislaus counties. Anthem Touch (HMO SNP): Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Clara counties. Anthem Diabetes, Heart, & Breathe (HMO SNP): Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Clara, Stanislaus counties. Anthem ESRD (HMO SNP): Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties. Anthem MediBlue Dual Advantage (HMO SNP): Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Sacramento, San Francisco, Tulare, and Ventura counties. Anthem MediBlue Coordination Plus (HMO): Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. Anthem Connect Plus (HMO): Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara, San Benito, and San Bernardino counties.

"We are pleased that CMS has recognized our efforts to improve the health outcomes and experiences of our current plan members and those we hope to have the privilege of serving in the future," Martin added.

Keywords for this news article include: HMO, Health Policy, Health Insurance, Anthem Blue Cross, Medicare and Medicaid, Health Maintenance Organizations.