January 13, 2005 

Robert J. Margolis, M.D., Names Chairman-Elect of NCQA Board of Directors

HealthCare Partners CEO will be first physician to head NCQA Board

WASHINGTON— The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced today that Robert J. Margolis, M.D., managing partner and CEO of HealthCare Partners, a large physician-owned and operated medical group in California, has been named Chairman-elect of its Board of Directors. Margolis will succeed the Board’s current Chairman, James Bradley, in January 2006. Bradley has served as the Chairman of NCQA’s Board for the past two years, during which time the organization launched its online survey platform, introduced new physician-level measurement programs and helped launch the Bridges to Excellence, an initiative through which employers recognize and reward top doctors.  Bradley will remain on the NCQA Board following his tenure as Chair.

NCQA’s 16-member Board plays a key role in setting the organization’s agenda and oversees its work and programs. The group comprises influential individuals from across the country representing employers, consumer groups, health care organizations, academia and the public sector (see attached list).

“I’m honored to be elected Chair of the NCQA Board -- quality is one area of health care where everyone’s interests align, and no organization has done more to advance this cause than NCQA,” said Robert J. Margolis, M.D. “I look forward to working with the Board and staff to improve health care quality and to expand accountability at all levels of the health care system.”

Dr. Margolis has been the managing partner and CEO of HealthCare Partners since the formation of the company in 1992.  HealthCare Partners – a Los Angeles-based company – includes HCP, Ltd., the physician practice management organization; HealthCare Partners Medical Group; Health Care Partners Institute, the company’s not-for-profit research arm; and The Camden Group, a national medical consulting firm.

“I’m delighted to have a physician like Bob Margolis serving as our Board chair,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “The success of our future agenda depends on engaging physicians in our work, lowering barriers to performance measurement and expanding pay for performance. No one has a better background for helping us address these challenges than Bob.”

Currently Dr. Margolis serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for California Hospital Medical Center- Los Angeles.  He is a past member of the Catholic HealthCare West, Southern California Board of Directors and its Strategic Planning Committee.  He is past Chairman of the American Medical Group Association and a two-time past Chairman of the Board of the Unified Medical Group Association.  Dr. Margolis is also a board member for many other prestigious organizations, including the California Healthcare Association and the California Association of Physician Organizations (CAPO).  He is a member of the Executive Management School Advisory Committee, School of Public Health, at UCLA.

Dr. Margolis is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology, and is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.  He is a graduate of Rutgers University and the Duke University Medical School and served a fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.
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 manages the evolution of HEDIS®, the performance measurement tool used by more than 90 percent of the nation’s health plans. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web and the media in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

HealthCare Partners Medical Group and its managed IPAs serve over 400,000 patients each year.  The medical group's staff-model division provides medical services through more than 300 doctors at 30 offices and four urgent care centers throughout greater Los Angeles. Its independent physician associations (IPAs) provide care through hundreds of other offices around Los Angeles County.  For more information about HealthCare Partners, visit www.healthcarepartners.com or call (888) 715-4922.

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NCQA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Robert J. Margolis, M.D. -- HealthCare Partners (Chair-elect)	James Bradley -- Chair
David F. Durenberger -- National Institute of Health Policy (NIHP)	Robert S. Galvin, M.D. -- General Electric Company
William Goss -- Cain Brothers	Jerome P. Kassirer, M.D. -- Tufts School of Medicine, Yale School of Medicine
Peter V. Lee, J.D. -- Pacific Business Group on Health	Ralph W. Muller -- University of Pennsylvania Health System
Debra Ness -- National Partnership for Women and Families	Joseph Newhouse, Ph.D. -- Harvard University
Margaret E. O'Kane -- NCQA	Thomas Reardon, M.D. -- American Medical Association (Past President)
Steve Sleigh -- International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers	Ellen Stovall -- National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
I. Steven Udvarhelyi, M.D. -- Independence Blue Cross	Woody Williams -- General Motors