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Management Update (2007)
A personal perspective from David Bridges, president and chief executive officer
of Health Advantage
Putting Members First!
Our Member Satisfaction Vision: The Right Service for Every Member Every Time
Health Advantage is rated extremely high by our members for timely and accurate
claims processing and customer-service satisfaction. We are focused every day to
respond to our members and now have available interactive Web and telephone service,
which has been indicated by members as important.
In the 2006 Health Employer Data Information Set (HEDIS) survey, Health Advantage
ranked above both national and regional averages for patients and members satisfied
with Health Advantage and especially satisfied with their choice of physicians and
other health-care professionals. Refer to the Member
Satisfaction Survey for additional information.
Survey Results Positive
One of the key survey questions was, “Do you feel that your HMO has prevented you
from getting the care you or your doctor believes necessary?” The responses from
the member satisfaction survey indicated that only about three percent of our members
felt this was a problem.
Another question was, “How much of a problem, if any, were delays in health care
while you waited for approval from your health plan?” Only three percent of our
members indicated there was a problem in getting the care quickly that they or their
doctor requested.
Programs Encourage Healthy Lifestyles
Health Advantage is moving ahead with many quality initiatives to improve the lifestyles
of our members. Programs already are in place for diabetes, preventive health, breast
and cervical cancer, flu and pneumonia, and depression. We partner with several
companies offering member discounts
on health-related activities and contact lenses. Also provided for our members is
the popular health-coaching and health-information service through HealthConnect Blue.
During the past several years, Health Advantage has enjoyed the lowest administrative
cost percentage of any HMO in the state; and Health Advantage ranks in the top quartile
for holding down administrative costs as compared to national HMOs. We have expanded
our services and information on our Web sites for member self-service:
My Health Plan is a summary of the medical benefits covered by your
health plan, and My Blueprint provides information on claims status
and history, eligibility and more.
Services Expand as Costs Remain Low
I think our members and Health Advantage employees should be proud that we focus
our efforts to provide excellent service and keep general and administrative costs
low. At the same time, we are working with providers for cost-effective utilization
management — all in an effort to keep our premium rates as low as possible.
Finally, many challenges are coming in the future, creating an environment in which
we will continue to improve our product designs, expand member self-service and
provide more member educational information and tools to assist members in making
health-care decisions. This will be especially helpful for members with our Blue~by~design
health savings account (HSA) plans.
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