Blue Plus Awarded NCQA Multicultural Health Care Distinction for State Medicaid Plans

(Eagan, Minn.) January 28, 2020 – Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota and Blue Plus today announced that the Blue Plus HMO has been awarded the Multicultural Health Care Distinction from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). Blue Plus is the only Minnesota-based plan among 51 organizations with the NCQA Multicultural Health Care Distinction and it applies to the Blue Plus plans that cover Minnesota’s Medical Assistance program, including Blue Advantage Families and Children, MinnesotaCare, Minnesota Senior Care Plus (MSC+) and Minnesota Senior Health Options (MSHO).

“This distinction highlights Blue Cross’ commitments to putting the customer first and making health care easy to use,” said Ruth Hafoka, senior vice president and chief human resources officer at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. “We continually strive to find better ways to ensure that all of our members get the quality of care they need to lead healthy and productive lives. We’re very proud for the NCQA to recognize the work our associates put into these efforts every day.”

Multicultural Health Care (MHC) Distinction is a nationally recognized evaluation that purchasers, regulators, and consumers can use to assess which organizations have earned distinction by meeting rigorous standards in serving a diverse population. The MHC program evaluates how well an organization complies with the standards for the following areas: collection of race/ethnicity and language data; provision of language assistance; cultural responsiveness; and quality improvement of culturally and linguistically appropriate services, and reduction of health care disparities. 
 

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 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota

For more than 90 years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (bluecrossmn.com) has supported the health, wellbeing and peace of mind of our members by striving to ensure equitable access to high quality care at an affordable price. We are on a mission to inspire change, transform care and improve health for the people and communities we serve by reinventing both ourselves and the broader system. Our more than 2.5 million members can be found in every Minnesota county, all 50 states and on four continents. As a proud nonprofit organization, we believe working to advance wellness for all Minnesotans is the greatest investment we can make. Our goal is nothing less than for everyone to be able to achieve their full health potential, regardless of race or other socially defined circumstances. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, which serves more than 107 million members across the U.S.

Blue Cross offers PPO and HMO-POS plans with Medicare contracts. Enrollment in these Blue Cross plans depends on contract renewal.

Read a copy of the Blue Cross civil rights notice.

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