BLOOMFIELD, Conn., January 09, 2008 - CIGNA HealthCare has earned full accreditation for its PPO plans nationwide from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The “Full” accreditation – currently NCQA’s highest accreditation rating for a PPO – underscores the quality of CIGNA HealthCare’s benefits plans.
As health care delivery in the United States becomes more consumer-focused, health plan members and employers alike are seeking information that helps them compare the performance of health plans. While this comparative information is increasingly available for health maintenance organization (HMO)-type plans, information on the performance of preferred provider organization (PPO)-type plans has lagged behind. To help close this information gap and be responsive to the needs of health care consumers, CIGNA voluntarily sought accreditation for its PPO and Open Access Plus plans from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).
"We are delighted that CIGNA HealthCare has demonstrated its commitment to quality by obtaining NCQA accreditation for its PPO and Open Access Plus plans,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, president of NCQA.
“NCQA accreditation is powerful evidence that CIGNA is committed to improving the health and well-being of all of our members, regardless of which type of health benefits plan they have,” said Jeff Kang, M.D., CIGNA's chief medical officer. “In addition to this accreditation for our PPO plans, the 23 CIGNA HMO and point of service (POS) plans that have undergone NCQA review have also received the highest accreditation rating available. We’re pleased to now have the NCQA’s ‘quality seal of approval’ for health plans that serve the majority of CIGNA members.”
CIGNA's national accreditation is based on an in-depth review of its PPO and Open Access Plus plans. The review included both off-site and on-site examinations of CIGNA's adherence to NCQA standards related to quality improvement, utilization management, appeals, credentialing and re-credentialing, enrollees’ rights and responsibilities, member connections and delegation oversight processes.
The recent national accreditation is the latest step in CIGNA's effort to expand quality measurement to PPO plans. In 2004, CIGNA stepped forward to become the first national health care plan to voluntarily commit to measuring and reporting to NCQA on indicators of health care quality for its PPO-type plans, which are also the plans that serve CIGNA's consumer-driven health plan members. CIGNA has provided this information to NCQA for quality benchmarking purposes for the past two years.
A recent study1 shows that the percentage of Americans enrolled in HMOs, point of service and traditional health plans has declined steadily since 1999, while the percentage of Americans enrolled in PPO plans steadily increased. After 2001, PPO enrollment in America overtook enrollment in the other types of plans and now accounts for nearly two-thirds of health plan members.
CIGNA HealthCare, based in Bloomfield, Conn., provides medical benefits plans, dental coverage, behavioral health coverage, pharmacy benefits and products and services that integrate and analyze information to support consumerism and health advocacy. "CIGNA HealthCare" and the “Tree of Life” logo are registered service marks of CIGNA Intellectual Property, Inc., licensed for use by CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI) and its operating subsidiaries, including Connecticut General Life Insurance Company. All products and services are provided exclusively by such operating subsidiaries, and not by CIGNA Corporation. For more information, visit www.cigna.com.
1 Kaiser Family Foundation/HRET Employer Health Benefits Survey, 2006, as cited in NCQA’s “The State of Health Care Quality 2006.”
