Well Sense Health Plan Receives Commendable Accreditation from National Committee for Quality Assurance

Well Sense Health Plan announced that its Medicaid HMO has been upgraded to Commendable Accreditation status by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) based on the results from its recent submission of HEDIS® and CAHPS® data to NCQA. Well Sense previously held “Accredited” status, the highest status available for Well Sense Health Plan at the time.

In addition, Well Sense Health Plan’s Medicaid HMO is rated 4 out of 5 – on a scale of 1 to 5 – among Medicaid plans in the U.S., according to NCQA’s Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2015-2016. This is the first time that NCQA has employed this rating structure.

“We are proud of our new rating and that our status has risen to Commendable Accreditation,” said Lisabritt Solsky, Well Sense Health Plan Executive Director. “We can point to our focus on member outreach and provider collaboration as key determinants in helping us to achieve this recognition.”

Well Sense received high scores in several measures factoring into the overall rating. They included a score of 5.0 – the highest score for a measure – in categories such as Getting Care Quickly, Health Promotion and Education, Controlling High Blood Pressure, and Alcohol or Drug Dependence Treatment Initiated.

Health plans are measured based on clinical data from the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS), and from member satisfaction data in the health plan Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS).

Dr. Karen Boudreau, Well Sense Health Plan’s Chief Medical Officer, commented, “The measures included in NCQA’s accreditation program and health plan ratings demonstrate the positive impact that Well Sense Health Plan has had in just this first year of reporting. Our members are receiving high quality preventive and acute care, both for medical and behavioral health issues.”

About Well Sense Health Plan

Well Sense Health Plan is the largest of the managed care organizations selected by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services to provide health care coverage to New Hampshire’s Medicaid members. In New Hampshire, Well Sense Health Plan is the trade name for Boston Medical Center Health Plan, Inc., a non-profit managed care organization founded in 1997 by Boston Medical Center. With a dedicated community outreach effort, Well Sense strives to support New Hampshire’s underserved populations to help ensure they receive the quality health coverage they deserve. For more information, visit wellsense.org.

About the National Committee for Quality Assurance

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (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 recognizes clinicians in key clinical areas. NCQA’s HEDIS® is the most widely used performance measurement

tool in health care. NCQA’s Web site (www.ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices.

HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Contact: Richard Wolosz, 603-263-3064, email: richard.wolosz@wellsense.org