Tradition of Excellence Continues
 The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) has once again awarded HealthPartners “Excellent” accreditation status for both its commercial HMO/POS and Medicare Advantage product lines.
- As in past years, HealthPartners scored especially high in disease management, women’s health, children’s health and preventive services. These outstanding scores are direct results of our integrated approach to health care, which is built on programs such as care coordination for disease management and pay for performance initiatives that reward provider performance.
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To earn “Excellent” status, a plan must achieve a combined score of more than 90 points out of 100.
HealthPartners plan score/100
Commercial HMO/POS 96.79
Medicare Advantage 96.00 |
Because half of all HMO programs are NCQA-accredited, HEDIS gives you the data you need both to evaluate the quality of different health plans and to make plan decisions based on demonstrated value.
- NCQA’s accreditation program is a rigorous evaluation of how managed care plans are organized and operated. Teams of doctors and other industry experts review plans against more than 60 different standards. The survey categories — Access and Service, Qualified Providers, Staying Healthy, Getting Better and Living with Illness — evaluate not only medical procedures and outcomes, but also provider credentials and customer satisfaction with their health plan.
For more information, visit the NCQA website at http://www.ncqa.org.
HEALTHY BOTTOM LINE
Jump Start to increase incentives
Jump Start is expanding next year. The current version of Jump Start ends October 31. Your employees can resume enrolling on January 1, 2007.
10,000 Steps makes a difference
To date, more than 40,000 people have participated in this innovative physical activity program, which gives participants a free pedometer and encourages them to take at least 10,000 steps (or do an equivalent amount of other activity) a day. That’s enough to achieve 30 minutes of moderate physical activity — and burn an extra 150 calories — each day.
Our recent surveys show:
- most participants report feeling better overall and having more energy
- eighty-one percent of participants feel the program helped them increase their physical activity
- those who track their steps for eight weeks average a five-pound weight loss!
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The Jump Start health assessment reduces trend by giving your employees a personal health score and action plan to make improvements and head off costly illnesses before they start. Participants get the added reward of free enrollment in our award-winning 10,000 Steps® walking program.
Now we’ve made the rewards even sweeter. Beginning in January, employees who take the health assessment will get to choose either to enroll in 10,000 Steps or to receive a $20 pharmacy gift card and 20 percent off all non-prescription purchases at HealthPartners pharmacies in 2007.
For employees choosing 10,000 Steps, every time they record their steps on their personalized web page, they will be entered in a weekly drawing for their choice of:
- a one-year single YMCA membership at any of the metro Twin Cities' 21 locations
- $240 toward the participating Frequent Fitness club of their choice
OR
- $500 off a purchase of $1,000 or more at 2nd Wind Exercise Equipment
A total of 52 prizes will be awarded throughout the year.
Whether you want to encourage your employees to take advantage of Jump Start before the end of October (at healthpartners.com/jumpstart) or start a new fitness program in January, log on to the employer portal at healthpartners.com for ready-to-use communications materials to help you get the message out. Jump Start can cut your health care costs by thousands of dollars per year, so get your staff moving today!
HOW WE ADD VALUE
One-stop health plan shopping
HealthPartners is your one-stop shop for medical, dental and flexible spending account (FSA) plans. Plus we offer a full line of consumer driven health plans like health savings account (HSA), health reimbursement account (HRA) and Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) too.
With a single-source you get less paperwork and fewer headaches.
- You benefit from simpler plan administration, consolidated billing and a single renewal package.
- Your employees benefit from one-stop shopping for all of their customer service needs and account management tools.
- One website provides all the tools your employees need to track their financial accounts and appointments and health records (for care provided by HealthPartners-owned clinics).
- By bundling medical, dental and FSA services, you eliminate the hassles of filing FSA claims, because we do it automatically and immediately.
- Our national network of 470,000 providers and 4,800 hospitals means your employees are covered no matter where they work, live or travel.
- Its easier to add dental coverage with our new Preferred Open Access Dental option available exclusively with preferred pricing for bundling with new or renewal medical plans.
To learn more, please contact your HealthPartners Sales Representative.
HEADLINES
How to make your own directory
- Go to healthpartners.com and log in to the Employer Portal.
- You’ll see the Administration tab in the center of your screen. Click on the Printable Regional Directories link.
- On the Selection page:
- Search by state or ZIP code.
- Select your region.
- Select your plan.
The search tool creates your directory as a PDF file that you can print, email or post online.
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Customize your provider directory online
Now finding relevant provider information just got easier. You can create a customized regional directory with just a few clicks of your mouse at healthpartners.com. This time- and paper-saving innovation lets you create a list of available providers in your area, updated with CIGNA network information, for the Open Access and Distinctions plans.
You get only the names relevant to your plan, in your area. (If you have offices in several locations, you can create a custom directory for each.) The search tool compiles provider listings based on your criteria and creates a PDF file you can print out, email to employees or post on your company’s intranet.
Your employees who are HealthPartners members with Distinctions or Open Access plans can also create personalized directories based on criteria they choose. They simply log on to the Member Portal at healthpartners.com, click on Find a Doctor or Dentist and follow search steps similar to those for employers.
Nurse Navigators help you get the most from your health plan
If your employees need help navigating the health care system, our HealthPartners Nurse Navigators are a free, confidential resource that's just a phone call away.
“Our Nurse Navigator was wonderful. After contacting eight physicians who were not accepting new patients, she finally was able to locate a care provider for my daughter. Thanks for all you and your department do!”
— HealthPartners Member |
- Find just the right doctor, specialist, hospital or health care facility
- Find programs, tools and other ways to get and stay healthy
- Coordinate your care between physicians and facilities and help manage complex medical conditions
- Get expert medical advice and support — talk through important medical decisions step by step
- Know your drugs and pharmacy benefits
- Get the care you deserve — learn to communicate with your provider more clearly
- Resolve billing or benefits issues, like understanding what’s covered and walking through statements line by line
To reach a Nurse Navigator, call Member Services.
Benefit manager orientation
Make plan administration easier by coming to HealthPartners free benefit manager orientation.
Service experts from several departments bring you useful tips about plan administration; review key topics such as claims processing, membership tracking, pharmacy administration and customer service; explain main features of healthpartners.com; and highlight how to benefit from the many services HealthPartners provides.
Upcoming 2006 sessions: October 26, November 30
Location
HealthPartners Conference Center — Superior Room
8170 33rd Ave. South
Bloomington, MN 55425
Registration: 8:30 a.m. Program: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
To register: Fax the following information to 952-853-8704 or email it to salestrgregistration@healthpartners.com.
Your Name
Title
Employer name
Group number
Email address
Phone number
Fax number
Program date you wish to register for
HealthPartners address change
We’re not moving, but our address is. As of June 26, 2006, the City of Bloomington is changing the address of our corporate headquarters to:
HealthPartners
8170 33rd Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55425
Please update your records. Our P.O. Box address will remain the same (P.O. Box 1309, Minneapolis, MN 55440).
LIBRARY: QUICK LINKS TO GREAT RESOURCES
Our Group Medical Plans
Our Group Dental Plans
Our AchieveSM Health Improvement Programs
Our CareSpanSM Disease Management Programs
Direct Connect to Employer Portal
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Health tips you can use