DETROIT, Oct. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --More than 23,000 people in Livingston, Washtenaw and Wayne counties can feel even more secure in their health care plan knowing that Blue Cross Complete of Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Medicaid HMO, has been ranked the No. 1-rated Medicaid plan in the state by the National Council on Quality Assurance. It also was ranked the number four Medicaid plan in the nation out of 115 Medicaid plans. NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality.

"This honor reflects our hard work and commitment to giving our members high quality products and excellent service," said Nancy Wanchik, vice president at BCBSM and CEO of the company's Medicaid program. "We know that these efforts are keys to improving health and controlling overall costs."

In addition to achieving an "Excellent" accreditation and its number-one-in-the-state rating, Blue Cross Complete of Michigan ranks in the top 10 percent of health plans nationally in 15 health measuresincluding comprehensive diabetes care, prenatal and postpartum care, childhood immunizations and advising smokers to quit.

NCQA uses a standard set of criteria, Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) measures to rank the health plans in important aspects of care such as improving members health and customer satisfaction. Prevention and treatment measures made up 60 of the total score, consumer satisfaction accounted for 25 percent and NCQA accreditation scores made up the remaining 15 percent of NCQA's Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Rankings 2012- 2013.

"We continue to find innovative ways to improve care, strengthen our services and keep costs in check, through our partnerships and programs," Wanchik says. "For example, our Healthy Moms and Kids Challenge, which partners medical care groups to improve services from cancer screenings to child wellness visits. Programs like this and others bring real results in improving health and health care in the state."

Where did the NCQA rankings come from?

NCQA's rankings of the nation's Medicaid health insurance plans is based on its combined CAHPS, HEDIS and NCQA Accreditation standards scores.

CAHPS is the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems. It is a survey of health plan members' experiences and services received through their health plan.

HEDIS is a collection of performance metrics that measure the services provided by a health plan collected through a review of administrative data (such as claims or laboratory) or medical records.

NCQA Accreditation refers to scores that plans that have achieved on their NCQA's Managed Care Organization, Health Plan or New Health Plan accreditation standards.

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Blue Cross Complete of Michigan is tops in state for service