MINNETONKA, MN, January 21, 2008 — Medica has again been awarded the highest possible accreditation status, Excellent, by the prestigious National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA®) for its Minnesota Medicaid HMO and the commercial fully insured health plans it provides to Minnesotans, Wisconsinites, and North and South Dakotans.
"We consider the Excellent status a baseline measure for the quality of our care management and clinical and administrative programs and are delighted to receive this accreditation," said Dr. Charles Fazio, Medica chief medical officer. “This accreditation reaffirms our commitment to the standards we strive for in our business.”
In its assessment report, NCQA gave Medica the highest ratings possible in areas that go to the heart of what consumers and employers want most from a health plan:
- Access and service
- Qualified providers
- Improving the health of its members
Medica also received high ratings for programs aimed at helping members stay healthy and living with chronic illnesses.
NCQA reviews are rigorous, done by independent teams of physicians and managed care experts, with a national oversight committee of physicians analyzing the findings and assigning an accreditation level. Medica was evaluated for both the commercial and Medicaid health plans.
According to the NCQA, its accreditation is important for consumers and employers, and for physicians and other health care providers because it evaluates how well a health plan manages quality throughout every part of its delivery system.
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.