Regence earned strong ratings in quality and performance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for its regional 2017 Medicare Advantage health plans.
CMS developed Star Ratings* to help consumers make educated choices when selecting a high-quality Medicare health plan. Each year health plans are scored on a 1-5 star level scale, based on a curve relative to how other plans in the market perform. For 2017, Regence was recognized for its continued commitment to being a Northwest leader in serving Medicare members by reaching 4 or 4.5 out of 5 stars across all plans.
- Washington - HMO 4.5 Stars, PPO 4 Stars
- Oregon - HMO 4 Stars, PPO 4.5 Stars
- Idaho - HMO 4.5 Stars, PPO 4 Stars
- Utah - PPO 4 Stars
“Earning 4 to 4.5 Stars for our Medicare Advantage plans reflects our commitment to drive high-quality health care, close care gaps and transform the consumer experience,” said Scott Powers, Regence president of government programs. “While proud of our strong ratings for 2017, we are focused on improving our Star measures for 2018 and beyond so we continue delivering the best possible care for our members.”
Regence recognized for cross-functional excellence
For 2017, Regence’s Medicare Advantage PPO and HMO plans earned 4 to 5 stars in several key areas that contributed to the overall ratings, including customer service, call center quality, medication adherence, breast cancer screening, adult BMI assessment and drug plan improvement.
“Every improvement, every measure that strengthens our plans’ Star Ratings is a reflection of how we are working to improve the health care experience for our Medicare Advantage members today and many more in the future,” said Shawn Alexander, Regence vice president of risk adjustment and stars ratings. “We must remain focused on improving quality and performance across all measures to ensure Regence remains a market leader in the Medicare Advantage space.”
Our work is never done
Turning toward 2017 and beyond, Regence will continue to enhance and expand its care and disease management programs. This includes working to improve health outcomes at the provider level, incentivizing quality of care and providing tools to help close care gaps in patient populations. The health plans also achieved NCQA Accreditation by demonstrating the ability to drive improvements in four key areas: quality improvement, utilization management, member services and credentialing.
*Medicare evaluates plans based on a 5-star rating system. Star Ratings are calculated each year and may change from one year to the next.
About Regence
Regence serves more than 2.4 million members through Regence BlueShield of Idaho, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and Regence BlueShield (select counties in Washington). Each health plan is a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Regence is part of a family of companies dedicated to transforming health care by delivering innovative products and services that change the way consumers nationwide experience health care. For more information, please visit regence.com.