THE California Office of the Patient Advocate hosted a media roundtable exclusively for Asian American reporters last March 18 at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center in Los Angeles. Sandra Perez, Director of the Office of the Patient Advocate, unveiled the 2010 Health Care Quality Report Card in different Asian language versions and a new online tool that will help consumers compare different health plans.
"Patients need to become their own advocates to get the most out of their health care plans," said Sandra Perez, who encouraged consumers to get better health information which will give them better chances of getting the maximum health care. The web-based Report Card consists of thousands of pages of helpful information that has been tested in consumer focus groups.
Aside from representatives from the OPA, there were also representatives from the Pacific Business Group on Health and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. Ted von Glahn, Director of the Performance Information and Consumer Engagement, also provided information over the phone.
Asian media was provided with an overview of how well California’s largest HMOs and medical groups met national standards, language assistance and patient rights. The 2010 Health Care Report Card showed six out of the nine largest HMOs improved in their patient satisfaction ratings. At the same time, California continues to lag on some critical indicators of health care. The Report Card rates the nine largest commercial HMOs in the state that cover nearly half of all Californians.
"I am encouraged to see that more health plan members are satisfied with the services from their health plans than last year," said Perez. "It’s critical that Californians have the same information and tools available to receive the best value for their health dollars. This information is also helpful to the health plans in their efforts to improve the services and programs that they offer."
For the first time, some health plans received four-out-of-four stars for patient satisfaction, namely, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, PacifiCare and Western Health Advantage. Kaiser Permanente SC is the first HMO health plan to receive four stars in both meeting national standards of care and member satisfaction. Aetna Health California, Anthem Blue Cross and Cigna HMO showed improvements in both meeting national standards of care and member ratings.
"This year’s Report Card shows some overall improvement in clinical care, but also highlights specific areas where health plans need to provide better care," said Perez. "For the 18 million Californians who rely on HMOs for their health care, knowing how their health plan rates on various indicators will help them make them better health care decisions."
Screening tests for patients with diabetes have shown steady improvement over the past decade and now average about 90 percent. Cholesterol screening rates of patients with cardiovascular disease have also steadily increased and now average about 90 percent.
Areas needing improvement in the screening and/or treatment of certain health conditions include colorectal cancer screening rate, chlamydia screening, giving of antibiotic drugs to commercially-insured children, and patients needing mental health services.
The Office of the Patient Advocate is an independent office in state government that informs Californians about their rights and responsibilities as health care plan members and teaches them how to get the most out of their health care. In addition to the annual Report Card, the OPA also offers other resources to guide consumers to better health care at its site, opa.ca.gov. Copies of the Report Card can also be obtained by calling 1-888-466-2219. (AJPress)
( Published March 20, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A1 )
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