Business Coalition Honors Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Leadership in Forging Health Care Partnerships
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DETROIT, Jan 8, 2008 — Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan earned an eValue8 Health Plan Innovation Award from the Washington, D.C.-headquartered National Business Coalition on Health for the groundbreaking Value Partnerships program. The award recognizes the Blues' national leadership in collaborating on joint programs with physicians and hospitals that have led to improved health care for millions of Michigan residents, and enhanced health care value and efficiency.
The Michigan Blues' Value Partnerships program was one of three winners selected from 100 entries submitted by 50 plans nationwide.
"We applaud these health plans for demonstrating their commitment to improving the value of purchaser health care spending," said Andrew Webber, president and CEO of NBCH. "By sharing these groundbreaking programs with other health plans and purchasers, we hope to improve community health systems across the country."
At the heart of the Blues' Value Partnerships are Collaborative Quality Initiatives, a concept pioneered by BCBSM and Michigan hospitals and physicians. In CQIs, multiple participating medical institutions and practitioners collect and share data to improve the quality of care for patients for selected conditions or procedures.
BCBSM launched the first CQI, called the BCBSM Cardiovascular Consortium, as an eight-hospital team project coordinated by the University of Michigan Health System aimed at improving angioplasty care across Michigan. Recommendations led to dramatic decreases in emergency bypass surgeries, heart attacks, kidney failure and mortality for angioplasty patients. Results include potential annual health care savings of $8 million for associated complications. The consortium continues to grow, with 30 Michigan hospitals now participating.
Based on the success of the consortium, BCBSM joined with hospitals and physicians in launching additional CQIs to improve patient outcomes in bariatric surgery, cardiac surgery, breast oncology and general and vascular surgery procedures.
NBCH is a national, non-profit, membership organization of nearly 70 employer-based health care coalitions, representing over 7,000 employers and 34 million employees and their dependents across the United States.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit organization, provides and administers health benefits to more than 4.6 million members residing in Michigan in addition to members of Michigan-headquartered groups who reside outside the state. The company offers a broad variety of plans including: Traditional Blue Cross Blue Shield; Blue Preferred, Community Blue and Healthy Blue Incentives PPOs; Blue Care Network HMO; BCN Healthy Blue Living; Flexible Blue plans compatible with health savings accounts; Medicare Advantage; Part D Prescription Drug plans, and MyBlue products in the under-age-65 individual market. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com.