NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, HP (formerly Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield) recently earned the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Equity Accreditation Plus, a recognition of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s leadership in developing solutions to enhance access to equitable, high-quality healthcare. It further underscores Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP’s commitment to eliminating health disparities in underserved communities to improve health outcomes and reduce overall treatment costs.
“NCQA’s Health Equity Accreditation Plus recognizes our unwavering dedication to eliminating health disparities and ensuring access to high-quality care for everyone,” said Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP’s President and CEO Dr. Mark Levy. “This milestone positions Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, HP at the forefront of advancing health equity through our innovative and impactful programs that provide access to individualized care to improve the whole health of our members.”
NCQA Health Equity Accreditation Plus builds upon the Health Equity Accreditation designation Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, HP received last year, when it was recognized among the first Medicaid plans in the nation to create a strategic framework that prioritizes health equity based on race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
The new Health Equity Accreditation Plus goes a step further by acknowledging Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s data-driven approach to identify and collect information on individuals’ social needs. This data enables Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield to develop personalized services and supports to combat health inequities and establish impactful relationships with community-based organizations (CBOs) to improve the health outcomes of individuals.
“Racial and ethnic disparities have hindered quality healthcare progression for many Americans,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, NCQA President. “Organizations earning the Health Equity Accreditation Plus like Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP are leading the way in bridging this gap, and NCQA salutes their commitment.”
One way Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP is advancing its health equity mission is through partnerships with organizations such as Food Bank For New York City who launched the ‘Food as Medicine’ program in 2023. This initiative, with a goal of connecting people facing hunger in New York City to food distribution programs that provide access to healthy food options, aims to screen between 2000 and 3000 patients over the next three years to improve food security and health outcomes. Patients are screened during home health visits for food insecurity and the health care partner then connects patients who screen positive for food insecurity to food assistance resources onsite at health care facilities and at community-based food pantries and meal programs.
“Food Bank For New York City’s partnership with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP will help us further our mission of ending hunger in our city,” said Leslie Gordon, President & Chief Executive Officer, Food Bank For New York City. “Thanks to a very generous $450,000 grant, we will be able to expand our reach to New York City’s most vulnerable residents,” she added.
About NCQA
NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more-informed health care choices. NCQA can be found online at ncqa.org, on Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/ and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP
Serving New Yorkers for 90 years, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP is on a mission to materially and measurably improve the health of New Yorkers. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield HP is the trade name of Anthem HP, LLC. Independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Anthem is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., serving residents and businesses in the 17 eastern and southeastern counties of New York state. Additional information about Anthem is available at www.anthem.com. Follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
