Silverlink Announces Medicare Star Rating Solution to Help Medicare Advantage Plans Improve Beneficiaries’ Quality of Care and Satisfaction

Health Plans Have Opportunity to Drive Star Ratings and Become Eligible to Earn CMS Bonus Beginning in 2012

Silverlink Star Power™ Solution Utilizes Communications as Key Component to Improve Star Ratings

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Silverlink Communications® Inc., the leader in healthcare consumer communications, today announced its Star Power™ Solution, designed to help Medicare Advantage plans optimize revenue by taking control of and improving CMS Medicare star ratings. The solution specifically focuses on improving member engagement, driving wellness and ultimately boosting satisfaction.

“Rewards can be substantial, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in bonus payments for the largest plans. With the average star rating a 3.27, the time to boost star ratings is now – waiting is not an option.”

“Everything revolves around the stars for Medicare Advantage plans,” says Donna Burtanger, senior director of Medicare solutions for Silverlink Communications. “Rewards can be substantial, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in bonus payments for the largest plans. With the average star rating a 3.27, the time to boost star ratings is now – waiting is not an option.”

CMS will award quality bonuses, beginning in 2012, to plans that have achieved a minimum four-star rating out of a possible five stars. Bonuses awarded in 2012 will be based on data collected this year. Star ratings are a composite score derived from HEDIS®, CAHPS® and HOS surveys, as well as CMS administrative data around customer service, grievances and appeals, and disenrollment rates.

“Winners will be the plans that immediately align beneficiary communications across all areas of the organization. By harnessing the predictive power of healthcare data to identify the right message and mode of communication, plans can drive specific behaviors - essentially positioning themselves to continually improve on star ratings,” says Burtanger.

Launched in May at RESULTS2010, Silverlink’s annual customer event, the Star Power™ Solution is an integrated communications program that allows Medicare Advantage plans to make an immediate impact on star ratings with a consistent, coordinated member experience. In a phased approach, the Silverlink Star Power™ Solution begins with an analysis of clients’ historical data and past ratings performance to identify and prioritize areas that can be measurably improved. Findings are used to construct a CMS-compliant member communications plan that improves star performance by engaging more members to get preventive screenings, delivering more relevant and timely communications, and improving member satisfaction to lower disenrollment rates.

Leveraging the insights of tens of millions of communications touches with Medicare beneficiaries, the Silverlink Star Power™ Solution uses the company’s industry-leading expertise, analytics capabilities and campaign management technology platform. Sophisticated member segmentation models are developed to allow clients to deliver highly personalized communications that are continually optimized for critical star ratings performance indicators.

For more information on Silverlink’s Star Power^TM Solution, visit http://starpower.silverlink.com/.

About Silverlink

Silverlink knows the healthcare consumer – and we know every point of contact offers a chance to impact their behavior.

Our solutions are trusted by 80 of the nation’s largest and most influential health plans, pharmacy benefit managers, and population health companies to build stronger relationships with consumers and dramatically lower costs.

Silverlink’s unique approach combines real-time consumer interactions, behavioral insights and process innovation to unlock the value that consumers represent in healthcare’s complex cost equation. To learn more about what makes Silverlink the leader in healthcare consumer communications, please visit www.silverlink.com, email [e-mail], or call 1.781.425.5700.

Silverlink is a registered trademark and Star Power is a trademark of Silverlink Communications Inc. All other brand and product names contained in this release may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.