December 6, 2004

MINNESOTA MEDICAID PROGRAM RECOGNIZES NCQA STANDARDS; NCQA ACCREDITATION WILL APPLY TO FIVE AREAS OF STATE QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

Four Minnesota plans already hold NCQA Accreditation

WASHINGTON— Health plans in the State of Minnesota accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) will gain an important new benefit under an agreement reached by the state and NCQA. The Minnesota Department of Human Services, the state’s Medicaid agency, has announced that it will apply NCQA Accreditation standards to five major areas of the Department’s annual quality review required under federal law. Standards will be applied where they are consistent with federal and state managed care contract requirements in the areas of credentialing, utilization management, grievances, quality improvement and delegation. This determination will reduce an NCQA-Accredited health plan’s overall oversight burden.

“NCQA’s review process is thorough and rigorous. By recognizing NCQA standards in whole or in part in our review process, plans may experience a significant burden reduction,” said Vicki Kunerth, Director, Performance Measurement and Quality Improvement, Minnesota Department of Human Services. “We look forward to a productive relationship with NCQA.”

NCQA-Accredited health plans in Minnesota welcomed the state’s decision. “We're proud to have earned NCQA's seal of approval and glad to see that it will now satisfy certain state requirements as well,” said Charles Fazio, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Medica Health Plans. “The more efficient the oversight process is, the more energy and resources we can focus on improving the care and service delivered to our members.”

Minnesota joins the federal government and more than 30 other states that recognize NCQA Accreditation to satisfy federal or state requirements. “We thank the Minnesota Department of Human Services for recognizing the scope and rigor of our Accreditation program and for working with us to make plan oversight a more efficient process,” said Richard Sorian, NCQA Vice President, Public Policy. “We invite other health plans in the state to consider the benefits of earning NCQA Accreditation.”

For more information about federal or state recognition or to inquire about the NCQA Accreditation process, please contact Patricia Pergal, Director of Public Policy at (202) 955-3595. A complete listing of states that recognize NCQA accreditation is available at www.ncqa.org.

NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations.  NCQA provides health care quality information free of charge through the Web and media in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

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