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Blue Cross of California Introduces Pay-for-Performance Hospital Program

Posted on: Wednesday, 19 March 2008, 12:00 CDT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- . Blue Cross of California (Blue Cross) today announced the introduction of its Quality-in-Sights Hospital Incentive Program (Q-HIP) in 23 California hospitals.

Q-HIP is designed to align financial incentives with quality improvements. It uses select indicators that have been identified for public reporting by the California Hospital Assessment and Reporting Taskforce (CHART) to assess hospital performance. These indicators are also promulgated by several national standard setting organizations, including The Joint Commission, the Leapfrog Group and the National Quality Forum (NQF).

To be eligible for Q-HIP, hospitals must submit their data to CHART, which was established in 2004 to develop a statewide hospital performance reporting system. Hospitals can earn Q-HIP adjustments to inpatient hospital fixed payment rates depending on their Q-HIP score, which is based on patient safety, clinical processes and outcomes, and patient experience. There is no downside adjustment based on Q-HIP performance.

Blue Cross's goal is to improve performance across the provider network and minimize the variation in quality. "We are committed to helping our members by supporting change that improves the quality and safety of health care," said Leslie Margolin, president and general manager of Blue Cross. "Consumers have demonstrated an increased demand for value purchasing, and we have responded to that need."

"Blue Cross has already established physician measurement and reward programs," said Margolin. "Now we are ready to introduce a process to measure the quality of hospitals within our network."

Hospitals that currently participate in Q-HIP include: Pacifica Hospital of the Valley, USC University Hospital, Desert Regional Medical Center, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center, USC Kenneth Norris Jr. Cancer Hospital, Los Alamitos Medical Center, Irvine Regional Hospital and Medical Center, Lakewood Regional Medical Center, Placentia Linda Hospital, San Dimas Community Hospital, John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, Twin Cities Community Hospital Inc., Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, Community Hospital of Los Gatos, Doctors Hospital of Manteca, San Ramon Regional Medical Center, Mendocino Coast District Hospital, Community Medical Center of Fresno, Clovis Community Medical Center, University Medical Center of Fresno, Patients' Hospital of Redding and Doctors Medical Center of Modesto.

About Blue Cross of California

Blue Cross of California is a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. WellPoint's mission is to improve the lives of the people it serves and the health of its communities. WellPoint, Inc. is the largest publicly traded commercial health benefits company in terms of membership in the United States. WellPoint, Inc. is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and serves its members as the Blue Cross licensee for California; the Blue Cross and Blue Shield licensee for Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area), Nevada, New Hampshire, New York (as Blue Cross Blue Shield in 10 New York City metropolitan counties and as Blue Cross or Blue Cross Blue Shield in selected upstate counties only), Ohio, Virginia (excluding the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C.), Wisconsin; and through UniCare. Additional information about WellPoint is available at http://www.wellpoint.com/.

Blue Cross of California

CONTACT: Peggy Hinz, +1-805-557-6791, peggy.hinz@wellpoint.com, for BlueCross of California

Web site: http://www.wellpoint.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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