Spokane County, Washington:
Tri-Cities/Yakima, Washington:
Northern Arizona:
Travis, Williamson, El Paso, Longview, Tyler, Texas:
Oklahoma region of Fayetteville, Fort Smith, and Texarkana:
Central and Northwest Arkansas, Hot Springs, Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Texarkana:
Texarkana region of Arkansas and Texas:
Lake Charles and Shreveport/Monroe, Louisiana:
Savannah, Athens, Columbus, Macon, Georgia; Charleston, Greenville, Allendale, South Carolina; Eastern North Carolina:
Cumberland, York, Lewiston and Bangor, Maine:
Texas Community Care Receives Senior Choice Gold Award for Excellence in 2008 Medicare Plan Benefits in El Paso Area
November 01, 2007 – COLUMBUS, OH – Texas Community Care is one of 35 Medicare plans nationally to be recognized for cost-sharing effectiveness and value in the design of their 2008 medical and Part D prescription drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries. The El Paso Plus plan is the only Medicare Advantage plan in the El Paso area to qualify for the 2008 Senior Choice Gold Award.
The award recipients were selected from over 200 Medicare managed care plans based on cost-sharing comparisons conducted by HealthMetrix Research Inc., a national independent managed care research firm. In announcing the 2008 Senior Choice Gold Award recipients, HealthMetrix Research and MedicareNewsWatch.com president Alan Mittermaier pointed out the importance of the award for Medicare beneficiaries:
"This award responds to the concerns and uncertainties that beneficiaries have with the out-of-pocket costs incurred when they enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. Texas Community Care has demonstrated a commitment to delivering maximum value in the design of their plan benefits, copayments, deductibles, and premiums. We believe that informed beneficiaries can rely on this award as an indication of excellence just as they rely on other awards and consumer ratings that recognize excellence in quality of care, health outcomes and member satisfaction."
The award selections were based on the 2008 estimated cost-sharing comparisons conducted in over 120 cities during October 2007 by HealthMetrix Research Inc. The annual comparisons estimate the out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries based on health status categories (healthy/episodic/chronic) and corresponding utilization of the most common plan benefits (physician office visits, emergency or urgent care, hospital care, prevention care, prescriptions). The comparisons identify the Medicare plans with the lowest and highest estimated annual out-of-pocket costs based on the approved 2008 member copayments, deductibles and premiums that appear in the Medicare Options Compare database (www.medicare.gov).
HealthMetrix Research Inc. has provided independent information to a national audience of managed care organizations and consumers since 1996. The COSTSHARE REPORT is the most current analysis of Medicare plan cost-sharing available. HealthMetrix Research Inc. neither recommends nor endorses specific Medicare managed care plans.