–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare of California’s commercial HMO plan has been awarded Health Equity Accreditation by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. This accreditation is granted to organizations that lead the market in working to reduce health care disparities by providing culturally appropriate and quality improvement interventions that serve diverse populations.
“Our statewide health plan is genuinely committed to ensuring that our commercial members across California have access to quality, equitable health care,” said Steve Cain, chief executive officer, Employer & Individual, UnitedHealthcare of California. “We are so honored to be recognized with an NCQA Health Equity Accreditation highlighting our team’s dedication to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone.”
Health Equity Accreditation is a nationally recognized accreditation that purchasers, regulators and consumers can use to distinguish organizations that meet rigorous standards in serving a diverse population. These NCQA standards include:
- Building an internal culture that supports the organization’s external health equity work.
- Collecting data that help the organization create and offer language services and provider networks mindful of individuals’ cultural and linguistic needs.
- Identifying opportunities to reduce health inequities and improve care.
“The prevalence of racial and ethnic disparities has been a barrier to improving the quality of health care of many Americans for too long,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Organizations achieving Health Equity Accreditation are leaders in closing this gap, and NCQA commends them for their dedication.”
In California, UnitedHealthcare serves more than 2.7 million people enrolled in employer-sponsored, individual and Medicare plans, with a network of 468 hospitals and nearly 140,000 physicians and care providers statewide.
To learn more about UnitedHealth Group’s commitment to addressing health equity, visit uhg.com. For more information about NCQA, visit www.ncqa.org.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.6 million physicians and care professionals, and 8,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow UnitedHealthcare on LinkedIn.
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 X at @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org/ and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.
Contacts
Lisa Contreras
Regional Communications Director
UnitedHealthcare, West Region
Lisa_Contreras@uhc.com
