Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Congratulates 39 Local Hospitals on Receiving Blue Distinction Center® Designation for Quality and Efficiency

The Blue Distinction® designation aids consumers and employers in choosing high-performing hospitals

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Feb 26, 2013, 10:48 ET

DETROIT, Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan today recognized 39 hospitals for the Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care^®program in the areas of Spine Surgery and Knee and Hip Replacement. Since 2006, the Blue Distinction program has identified hospitals that deliver quality care in Bariatric Surgery, Cardiac Care, Complex and Rare Cancers, Knee and Hip Replacements, Spine Surgery and Transplants.

The Blue Distinction Centers for Specialty Care program recently expanded to include new cost-efficiency measures, as well as more robust quality measures focused on improved patient health and safety. Ten facilities in Michigan are being recognized as Blue Distinction Centers for their expertise in delivering quality specialty care in Spine Surgery or Knee and Hip Replacement, and 29 are being recognized as Blue Distinction Centers+ for their expertise in quality and cost efficiency in delivering specialty care.

Quality is key: only those facilities that first meet Blue Distinction's nationally established, objective quality measures will be considered for designation as Blue Distinction Centers+. This is a voluntary program, and hospitals must meet minimum criteria to earn designation. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association conducts the evaluation.

In Michigan, hospitals must also participate in the Michigan Blues' Collaborative Quality Initiative programs, when applicable, in order to earn Blue Distinction designation. These Collaborative Quality Initiative programs have resulted in rapid quality and safety improvement in some of the most common and costly medical and surgical areas of care. In fact, four of the initiatives – focusing on general surgery, cardiac surgery, bariatric surgery and angioplasty – have resulted in cost savings of more than $232 million over three years due to avoided complications and improved safety.

"Blue Distinction Center designations, together with our award-winning Collaborative Quality Initiatives, are important hallmarks of quality and safety that consumers and employers can use when deciding where to go for certain treatments and surgical procedures," says David Share, MD, MPH, senior vice president, Value Partnerships, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

These newly designated Blue Distinction Centers and Blue Distinction Centers+ demonstrate better quality and improved outcomes for patients, with lower rates of complications and readmissions than their peers. Nationally, Blue Distinction Centers+ are more than 20 percent more cost-efficient. The program provides consumers with tools to help them make better informed health care decisions. These results will also enable employers, working with their local Blue Plan, to tailor benefits to meet their individual quality and cost objectives.

A list of Michigan hospitals designated in Spine Surgery and in Hip & Knee Replacement can be found below. For more information about the Blue Distinction Program, visit www.bcbs.com/bluedistinction.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more company information, visit bcbsm.com.

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association is a national federation of 38 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies that collectively provide healthcare coverage for 100 million members – one-in-three Americans. For more information on the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association and its member companies, please visit www.BCBS.com. We encourage you to connect with us on Facebook, check out our videos on YouTube, follow us on Twitter and check out The BCBS Blog, for up-to-date information about BCBSA.

Blue Distinction Centers met overall quality measures for patient safety and outcomes, developed with input from the medical community. Blue Distinction® Centers+ also met cost measures that address consumers' need for affordable healthcare. Individual outcomes may vary. National criteria is displayed on www.bcbs.com. A local Blue Plan may require additional criteria for facilities located in its own service area.

To find out which services and providers (including hospital based physicians) are covered under your policy or to learn about Local Blue Plan criteria, contact your Local Blue Plan. Before making an appointment, be sure to contact your provider to verify its current Network and Blue Distinction Centers status. Each hospital's Cost Index is calculated separately based on data from its Local Blue Plan. Hospitals in portions of California, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington may lie in areas served by two Local Blue Plans, resulting in two Cost Index figures; and their own Local Blue Plans decide whether all hospitals in these areas must meet Blue Distinction Centers+ national criteria for one or both Cost Index figures. Neither the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association nor any Blue Plans are responsible for damages, losses, or non-covered charges resulting from Blue Distinction or other provider finder information or care received from Blue Distinction or other providers. To find out more, contact your Local Blue Plan.

Designated Hospitals

Blue Distinction Center

Knee and Hip