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Inside this issue:

    Understanding what a health plan can do for you and your family is more important than ever. The 2008 Performance Report for Utah Commercial HMOs and Medicaid & CHIP Health Plans, released today by the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) Health Data Committee (HDC) and Division of Health Care Financing, evaluates quality of performance and member satisfaction of selected Utah health plans covering more than 900,000 members across the state.

Performance measures come from data collected by Utah health plans as well as a consumer satisfaction survey. Participating commercial HMOs were: Altius Health Plans, Regence HealthWise, Select Access, and UnitedHealthcare of Utah. Participating Medicaid HMOS included Healthy U and Molina Healthcare of Utah, as well as two plans administered by UDOH: Select Access Preferred Provider Network and the Fee for Service Plan. Two Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans are also included: Public Employees Health Program and Molina Healthcare of Utah.

“This report will help health plans identify areas for improvement that will ultimately benefit the entire health care system,” said Dr. David N. Sundwall, UDOH Executive Director. “We’re pleased to note that many important measures, like childhood immunizations, have increased significantly since we began monitoring health plan performance in 1996.”

The report describes how Utah HMOs are performing in selected areas of health care. Results show all commercial HMOs either met or exceeded national averages in providing child immunizations and blood sugar testing for diabetics. Over the past five years, the rate of pregnant women in commercial HMOs who receive timely prenatal care increased 26 percent. Commercial HMOs were above national averages for effective treatment of children with asthma, though they scored lower than national counterparts in preventive care and access measures like breast cancer screenings, well-child visits, and children’s access to primary care providers.

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Utah Health Plans Rated in 12th Annual Report

January 2009  Issue # 31

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