Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Achieves High Performance Scores from Federal Government for Medicare Offerings

EAGAN, Minn., Oct. 21, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Blue Plus (Blue Cross) announced an increase in the company's overall score for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star rating. Blue Cross' achieved a 4.5 Star rating on the Platinum Blue^SM Cost plan and a 4-Star rating on the SecureBlue^SM (HMO SNP) Minnesota Senior Health Option (MSHO) plan.

The CMS Five-Star Quality Star Rating System, scores Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug (Part D) plans on a series of performance and clinical measures, including quality of care, member experience, health plan administration and customer service. Ratings range from one to five stars, with five being the highest. 2016 Star Ratings are based on services and care members received in 2014.

In 2015, Blue Cross established an internal Medicare Stars Center of Excellence to drive greater performance over the company's ratings for its Cost and MSHO plans in 2014. Over the course of a year, the Medicare Stars Center for Excellence worked to develop and integrate improvements in provider engagement, member engagement, health improvement programs, administrative excellence and data analytics.

"Blue Cross has seen improved outcomes in several of the areas that CMS measures through the Star ratings," said Stacia Cohen, vice president for the Medicare Stars Center of Excellence. "We are dedicated to continue to work to maintain these high performance standards for our Medicare members so they can achieve the best possible health outcomes while using the benefits available in their Blue Cross health plan."

The Star ratings are posted at www.medicare.gov.  More information about Blue Cross' Medicare plans can be found at www.bluecrossmn.com/medicare. 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com), with headquarters in the St Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today as a health company: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. Blue Cross is a not-for-profit, taxable organization. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago.

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SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota