2014 eValue8™ assessment on health plans now available
The Alliance, on behalf of its members, has for the last several years worked with the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) to conduct a rigorous evaluation of health plans in Washington state using the eValue8 tool. We are pleased to share the results of the 2014 evalue8 process in our latest report, 2014 Report on Health Plan Performance: eValue8™ Results.
eValue8 is a nationally standardized request for information (RFI) that was originally developed by the NBCH to help purchasers assess the performance of health plans. Today, NBCH regularly updates the RFI based on evidence, consensus standards and input from health care purchasers and health plans across the country.
This is the fifth time that the Alliance has sponsored eValue8. In our market, five of the six commercial health plans participated in eValue8 this year: Aetna, Cigna, Group Health, Regence Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare. During June 2014, purchasers met with the five health plans for a half day each to discuss the results as well as opportunities to align purchaser and health plan strategy to improve value.
Three health plans earned top scores in select areas
Overall, Group Health was the top scoring health plan among the five participating plans in our state. In addition, Aetna, Cigna and Group Health all had performance in select areas that were very close to the best performing health plans in the country. We applaud all the health plans for their commitment to transparency regarding their performance and their willingness to have the summary-level results shared publicly.
Opportunities for improvement
The eValue8 process also revealed a number of opportunities for improvement common across most or all health plans, including:
- Improve cancer screening and immunization rates, including member reminders.
- Better programs to support members for tobacco cessation and obesity management.
- Broaden health plan support for providers to help members manage and coordinate care for chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, depression and substance abuse.
- Improve monitoring and alerts for medication adherence, especially specialty pharmaceuticals.
- Lower the rate of C-section and raise the rate of vaginal births after Cesarean (VBAC).
- Improve member experience with their health plan, particularly on information about how the health plan works and information on costs to the member.
- Increase consumer engagement in the use of shared decision-making tools, cost calculators and physician and hospital choice tools (including quality results).
- Better capture of the race, ethnicity and language of both members and health care providers and use of the information to improve cultural competency in the delivery of health care.
More information
Please contact Susie Dade if you have any questions: sdade@wahealthalliance.org.