HealthPartners' health plans ranked top in Minnesota

HealthPartners is among the top 25 best private health plans in the nation and the top ranked plan in Minnesota according to U.S. News & World Report/NCQA “America's Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10.” The report measures how well health plans perform on 50 measures of health care and member satisfaction. Two hundred thirty nine health plans from across the nation are included in the report. The top 50 health plans, including HealthPartners, are listed in the Nov. 16, 2009 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.

“Our customers tell us they want the support for better health, the best care possible, and they want every health care dollar to be used wisely. As we look at opportunities for real health care reform, it’s important we focus on delivering quality and value and making that information available to consumers,” said Mary Brainerd, HealthPartners president and CEO. “The annual ranking is a powerful tool for individuals because it helps them identify the plans that do the best job of delivering the best care and service.”

In the 2009 report, HealthPartners scored in the top 25 percent nationwide in areas including:

Health care

• Screening women for breast cancer
• Screening members for colon cancer
• Screening members for Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted disease
• Giving a strep test before prescribing antibiotics for children with a sore throat
• Prescribing beta-blockers, a life saving medication, for members who had a heart attack
• Making sure that blood pressure is normal among members with hypertension
• Providing eye exams and making sure that members with diabetes have normal blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels
• Making sure that members who have depression stay on medication for at least six months

Member satisfaction

• Having phone calls answered within 30 seconds
• Getting information and help when members need it and providing courteous service
• Getting care as soon as it is needed
• Handling claims quickly and accurately
• Giving doctors in HealthPartners network the highest rating

HealthPartners is the 25th highest-ranked plan nationally among private insurers and among the top 100 Medicare plans in the 2009 report. HealthPartners private plan has been in the top 50 health plans since 2005. U.S. News / NCQA America’s Best Health Insurance Plans 2009-10 and be found at www.usnews.com.

HealthPartners other recent honors and awards include:

• National Business Coalition on Health eValue8 report: HealthPartners scored highest out of more than 100 health plans in the nation in six out of seven areas of health care.
• Independent consumer survey: HealthPartners is the highest rated Minnesota health plan in overall consumer experience in a survey by the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®).

Source HealthPartners