| 52 New York State Hospitals To Share $19 Million In Quality Improvement Incentives
Fifty-two upstate New York hospitals received more than
$19 million in "quality improvement incentive payments" last year from
Univera and its Rochester-based parent, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield,
as part of their health insurer’s Hospital Performance Incentive
Program, the insurers said. The recipients agreed last year to tie
payments to their performance.
"By tying our payments to these hospitals, to
improvements in health outcomes and patient safety, we’re helping
assure that our members and all others get the best quality care and
the most value for their health care dollars," said Carrie Frank,
Univera’s vice president of quality and health informatics.
The payments were made as part of the insurers’
Hospital Performance Incentive Program, launched in 2004, to evaluate
participating hospitals on more than 300 measures of performance. Each
hospital works with the carrier to agree on targets, using industry
benchmarks.
The program specifically targets clinical outcomes,
patient safety, patients’ perception of care, their satisfaction
with it, and efficiency. BlueCross BlueShield does not release the
exact amount earned by each hospital, citing proprietary reasons, Frank
said.
Addresses: Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield, 165 Court Street, Rochester, NY 14604; (800) 847-1200, www.excellusbcbs.com. Univera Healthcare, PO Box 23000, Rochester, NY 14692; www.univerahealthcare.com.
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