Keystone Mercy Health Plan Ranked #18 Among All Medicaid Plans Nationwide
in U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best
Health Plans 2006
Philadelphia, PA - Keystone Mercy Health Plan was ranked #18 among all Medicaid health plans, making it one of the highest rated plans in the nation two years in a row, according to U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2006.
Located in Philadelphia, Keystone Mercy Health Plan is a healthcare ministry of the Sisters of Mercy in affiliation with Keystone First, Inc., and is the largest Medical Assistance managed care organization in Pennsylvania, serving more than 274,000 Medical Assistance recipients. Keystone Mercy's mission is to help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities, with a special concern for those who are poor.
"It is truly an honor to be recognized as one of the top Medicaid managed care plans in the country by U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2006," said Anne Morrissey, President, Keystone Mercy. "Our associates work hard every day to carry out our Company mission by providing quality health care and innovative health outreach programs for our members. This national ranking validates the strength of Keystone Mercy’s commitment to the Medicaid population in the Philadelphia region."
NCQA and U.S. News ranked 253 commercial, 73 Medicaid and 143 Medicare health plans based on a combination of clinical performance, member satisfaction and NCQA Accreditation status.
"Millions of people will use this information to help them select the right health plan for themselves and their families," said NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "Working with U.S. News allows us not only to identify those health plans that stand out, but also to motivate other plans to improve their performance and report the results."
Released in the November 6th edition of U.S. News & World Report, this collaborative study ranked the nation's commercial Medicare and Medicaid health plans based on access to care (member's ability to get needed care, quickly, health plan customer service), overall member satisfaction, prevention services (health screenings, prenatal care, childhood and adolescent immunizations, avoiding antibiotic overuse and well-child visits), treatment (how well the plan takes care of on-going health problems), and overall quality score (a combination of the scores from the four main categories above and NCQA accreditation). "America's Best Health Plans" is a trademark of U.S News & World Report.
"Choosing a health plan, like choosing a hospital or college, is one of the most important decisions that a family can make," said Avery Comarow, senior writer for U.S. News & World Report. "U.S. News 'America's Best' series is designed to provide readers with the information that they need to make informed choices."
About NCQA
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations, recognizes physicians and physician groups in key clinical areas and manages the evolution of HEDIS, the tool the nation's health plans use to measure and report on their performance. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.
About U.S. News & World Report
Founded in 1933, the weekly national news magazine U.S. News & World Report is devoted to investigative journalism and reporting and to analyzing national and international affairs, politics, business, health, science, technology and social trends. Through its annual rankings of America's Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools and America's Best Hospitals, and its News You Can Use® brand, U.S. News has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. Available online at www.usnews.com, the U.S. News Web site extends that brand promise and delivers the best, most accurate information on the Web, organized in a way that is accessible and easy to use.
About Keystone Mercy Health Plan
Keystone Mercy Health Plan is Pennsylvania's largest Medical Assistance (Medicaid) managed care health plan serving more than more than 274,000 Medical Assistance recipients in Southeastern Pennsylvania including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Keystone Mercy Health Plan is a mission driven, health care ministry of the Sisters of Mercy with more than 20 years of experience. Its corporate parent partners are Mercy Health System and Keystone First, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross. Keystone Mercy's mission is to help people get care, stay well and build healthy communities. Keystone Mercy has a special concern for those who are poor. For more information about Keystone Mercy Health Plan, please visit www.keystonemercy.com.
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