U.S. NEWS MEDIA GROUP AND NCQA RELEASE 2009-10 RANKINGS OF AMERICA'S BEST HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS

Over 600 Health Plans Evaluated Based On Quality of Care, Service

Washington, D.C. – November 12, 2009 – U.S. News Media Group and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) today released the fifth annual edition of America’s Best Health Insurance Plans on USNews.com. Published at the start of open-enrollment season, when Americans nationwide prepare to select their health coverage, the 2009-10 Best Health Insurance Plans guide provides consumers with comprehensive rankings and important detailed information for over 600 commercial, Medicare, and Medicaid health plans.

The full rankings of America’s Best Health Insurance Plans are online today at www.usnews.com/healthplans. The highest-scoring 50 commercial plans, 25 Medicare plans, and 25 Medicaid plans, as well as the “Honor Roll” plans at the top of the rankings, will be featured in the December issue of U.S. News, available on newsstands on Tuesday, December 1, 2009.

The 2009-10 America’s Best Health Insurance Plans rankings are based on analysis of 135 aspects of prevention, treatment, and member satisfaction, including such items as how quickly patients receive needed care and how well a plan controls blood sugar in people with diabetes. The Best Health Insurance Plans guide also identifies 120 plans that chose to report no data.

“The choice of a health insurance plan is one of the most important a consumer makes each year,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “The choices Americans are making this month will influence where they will get their care and whether that care will be of high quality or not. These rankings provides millions of people and families with the information they need to choose wisely.”

"Today there is an overwhelming amount of information available to consumers trying to make important healthcare decisions," said Avery Comarow, U.S. News Health Rankings Editor. “The problem is that much of this data can be confusing and sometimes unreliable. Through our health plan rankings, U.S. News helps connect consumers to information that is clear and trustworthy."
 
The complete 2009-10 America's Best Health Insurance Plans rankings are available at www.usnews.com/healthplans. Here is this year’s Honor Roll, defined as the top 10 commercial plans, top 5 Medicare plans, and top 5 Medicaid plans: 

Top 10 Commercial Plans

Rank	Plan Name	Score	Type	States
1	Harvard Pilgrim Health Care	91.1	HMO/POS	Maine, Mass.
2	Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England	90.2	HMO/POS	N.H.
3	Tufts Associated Health Maintenance Organization	89.9	HMO/POS	Mass., N.H., R.I.
4	Grand Valley Health Plan	89.4	HMO	Mich.
5	Capital Health Plan	89.0	HMO	Fla.
6	Geisinger Health Plan	88.6	HMO/POS	Pa.
7	Fallon Community Health Plan	88.0	HMO/POS	Mass.
8	Health New England	87.9	HMO/POS	Conn., Mass.
9	CIGNA HealthCare of New Hampshire	87.7	HMO/POS	N.H.
10	Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin	87.6	HMO	Wis.

Top 5 Medicare Plans

Rank		Plan Name	Score		Type	States
1	Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Colorado			89.0	HMO	Colo.
2	Fallon Community Health Plan			88.8	HMO	Mass.
3	Geisinger Health Plan			88.1	HMO	Pa.
4	Tufts Associated Health Maintenance Organization			88.0	HMO	Mass.
5	Capital Health Plan			87.6	HMO	Fla.

Top 5 Medicaid Plans

Rank		Plan Name	Score		Type	States
1	Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Hawaii			89.4	HMO	Hawaii
2	Boston Medical Center HealthNet Plan			89.3	HMO	Mass.
3	Fallon Community Health Plan			89.3	HMO	Mass.
4	Neighborhood Health Plan			88.2	HMO	Mass.
5	Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island			87.7	POS	R.I.

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 and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas. Today, 70 percent of Americans in health plans are in an NCQA Accredited plan. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. 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 the U.S. News Media Group

The U.S. News Media Group is a multi-platform digital publisher of news and analysis, which includes the monthly U.S. News & World Report magazine, the digital-only U.S. News Weekly magazine, http://www.usnews.com/, and http://www.rankingsandreviews.com/. Focusing on Health, Money & Business, Education, and Public Service/Opinion, the U.S. News Media Group has earned a reputation as the leading provider of service news and information that improves the quality of life of its readers. The U.S. News Media Group’s signature franchises include its News You Can Use® brand of journalism and its “America’s Best” series of consumer guides that include rankings of colleges, graduate schools, hospitals, health plans, and more.

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