UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia First in the State to Earn NCQA Health Equity Accreditation Plus

Newly established accreditation recognizes UniCare’s commitment to health equity, prioritizing the needs of socioeconomically marginalized individuals at the highest risk for adverse health outcomes.

CHARLESTON, W.Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia recently earned the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Health Equity Accreditation Plus, a recognition of UniCare’s leadership in developing solutions to enhance access equitable, high-quality healthcare. Leading the way as the first it further underscores UniCare’s commitment to eliminating health disparities in underserved communities to improve health outcomes and reduce overall treatment costs.

“NCQA’s Health Equity Accreditation Plus recognizes our unwavering dedication to eliminating health disparities and ensuring access to high-quality care for everyone,” said Tadd Haynes, President, UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia. “This milestone positions UniCare at the forefront of advancing health equity through our innovative and impactful programs and personalized care to improve the whole health of our members.”

NCQA Health Equity Accreditation Plus builds upon the Health Equity Accreditation designation UniCare received last year, when it was recognized among the first Medicaid plans in the nation to create a strategic framework that prioritizes health equity based on race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

The new Health Equity Accreditation Plus goes a step further by acknowledging UniCare’s data-driven approach to help identify and collect information on individuals’ social needs. This data enables UniCare to develop personalized services and supports to combat health inequities, leveraging partnerships with community-based organizations (CBOs) to help improve the health outcomes of individuals.

UniCare continues to advance its health equity mission through various innovative programs including:

• Culturally relevant maternal health and doula services, and parent education to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity disparities.
• Early prevention and interventions to improve health outcomes for members with chronic conditions, including diabetes and hypertension.
• Mobile dental services and screenings
• Increased access to healthy, nutritious affordable food
• Housing assistance initiatives
• Transportation services for medical appointments and health-related social needs.

“Racial and ethnic disparities have hindered quality healthcare progression for many Americans,” said Margaret E. O’Kane, NCQA President. “Organizations earning the Health Equity Accreditation Plus like UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia are leading the way in bridging this gap, and NCQA salutes their commitment.”

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 UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc.

UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia, Inc., serves more than 160,000 Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries living in West Virginia. UniCare has served Medicaid beneficiaries in West Virginia since 2003 and WVCHIP members in 2021. For more information about UniCare, visit unicare.com/wv and follow the company on Facebook @UniCareWV and Twitter @UniCareWV.

Contacts

Michael Perry

Public Relations Director, UniCare Health Plan of West Virginia

[email protected]