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Steward Community Choice receives approval from MA Division of Insurance

Posted on 12/13/2011

Steward Health Care System LLC (Steward) and Tufts Health Plan today announced that the Massachusetts Division of Insurance (DOI) has approved the new Steward Community Choice limited network insurance product for Massachusetts-based businesses.  With Steward Community Choice employers can offer their employees quality health care coverage at an affordable price.  In this plan, premiums range from 15 % to 30% less than many of Tufts Health Plan’s full network product plan designs.  The new, lower cost insurance product is now available for purchase for groups with an effective date of January 1, 2012.

“The annual health care cost increases that businesses are experiencing are not sustainable,” said Mark Girard, MD, Executive Vice President of Steward.  “This product allows businesses to save a significant amount of money on health care costs without sacrificing the quality of care their employees receive.”

“Through this agreement with Steward Health Care, we are introducing a product that offers a real choice for lower cost coverage of high quality health care,” said Tufts Health Plan Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Client Services, Brian P. Pagliaro. “This community-based solution to mitigating costs is consistent with Tufts Health Plan’s history of being an innovative leader in the health care market.”

Steward Community Choice offers comprehensive coverage with two plan designs: The product offers a plan design with low copayments for physician visits and no deductible, as well as a plan that includes a $1,000 individual deductible and a $2,000 family deductible plan.  Under the Steward Community Choice plan, clinically appropriate care will be delivered by a hospital or physician within the Steward Community Choice network.  Currently, the Steward Community Choice network consists of 10 acute care hospitals and over 1,400 physicians in Eastern Mass. All health care services that cannot be delivered by the Steward network will be delivered by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) subject to an authorization process.  Pediatric services will be provided by both Steward and certain Partners affiliated pediatricians.  Tertiary-level pediatric care will be provided by the MGH for Children. Tufts Health Plan will provide administrative support, credentialing and claims processing for the new product.

 

About Steward Health Care

Steward Health Care is the largest fully integrated community care organization and community hospital network in New England.  Headquartered in Boston, Steward has more than 16,000 employees serving more than one million patients annually in 85 communities.  Hospitals in the system include Saint Anne’s in Fall River, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Norwood Hospital, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, Morton Hospital and Medical Center in Taunton and Quincy Medical Center.  Other Steward Health Care entities include Steward Medical Group, Steward Hospice and Home Care, Laboure College, and Por Cristo.   Further information is available at www.steward.org.

About Tufts Health Plan
Headquartered in Massachusetts, with membership in that state and Rhode Island, Tufts Health Plan, a nonprofit organization, is nationally recognized for its commitment to providing innovative, high-quality health care coverage to its members. The plan supports its members and employers with an array of physician-led health management programs that use evidence-based medicine to design coverage that supports proven approaches to providing care and improving quality. Tufts Health Plan’s PPO is ranked 1st in the nations and 4th overall.  Its HMO and POS are ranked second in the nation.  (NCQA Private Health Insurance Rankings 2011-2012.) NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health quality.  For more information, please visit www.tuftshealthplan.org.