Health New England recognized for Outstanding Customer Service

HNE Achieves Highest Rating in National Survey

Springfield, MA-- According to a report released today by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), Health New England (HNE) achieved the highest rating in Customer Service among 160 commercial HMO/POS health plans surveyed in the United States.

In the Quality Compass® 2008 report, HNE achieved the highest ratings in the country in the “Customer Service” composite measure. HNE scored 93.46, which means 93.46 percent of the respondents answered “Always” or "Usually" to questions such as:

"In the past 12 months, how often did your health plan's customer service give you the information or help you needed?" and

"In the past 12 months, how often did your health plan’s customer service staff treat you with courtesy and respect?"

“When you call HNE, you speak with someone who lives right here in Western Mass.,” said HNE President and CEO Peter Straley. "We understand how our local health care system works and we know how to help our members get the care they need to remain healthy. The Quality Compass honor reflects that commitment. I am personally, very proud of our staff."

The NCQA publicly reports comparative results of health plans regionally and nationally in its annual Quality Compass® report.

About NCQA
NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations and recognizes physicians in key clinical areas. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA is committed to providing health care quality information through the Web, media and data licensing agreements in order to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices. For more information, visit www.ncqa.org.

About Health New England

Health New England is a managed care organization serving western Massachusetts since 1985. Because of its commitment to accountable, personal service, more than 100,000 members and 5,000 employers select HNE as their choice for health care coverage, administrative services and programs.

HNE employs more than 240 associates at its main offices in Springfield and in its Berkshire County office in Pittsfield. HNE’s service area covers Franklin, Berkshire, Hampden, Hampshire and parts of Worcester counties in Massachusetts. HNE has been ranked among the top health insurance plans in the United States by independent surveys.

*Quality Compass® is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

HEDIS® is a registered trademark of NCQA.