Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia announced that heading into next year, BCBSGa’s 2018 Medicare Advantage PPO plan will be rated five stars – with five stars being the best rating – by the Medicare Star Ratings program issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. BCBSGa offers this plan in 41 counties throughout Georgia. Recently, the CMS released their latest Star Ratings, which gives health plans scores for the quality and performance of their services.

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia’s continued commitment to giving our members access to high-quality, affordable health care is one of the main reasons our plans achieved high Star Ratings this year,” said David McNichols, president of the company’s Medicare central region. “We are grateful for our network of providers who collaborate with us to ensure that we’re delivering the quality and performance members expect from their health plan. We will continue to partner with our members to ensure we are providing them with the benefits they want, in order to meet their health care and lifestyle needs.”

BCBSGA MediBlue Access received five stars from CMS. This plan is available in the following counties: Barrow, Bibb, Bryan, Burke, Chatham, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Columbia, Coweta, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Effingham, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Glascock, Gwinnett, Harris, Henry, Houston, Jefferson, Jones, Liberty, McDuffie, Meriwether, Monroe, Muscogee, Newton, Paulding, Peach, Richmond, Rockdale, Spalding, Talbot, Toombs, Troup, Twiggs, Walton, and Warren.

“We are pleased that CMS has recognized our efforts to improve the health outcomes and experiences of our current plan members and those we hope to have the privilege of serving in the future,” McNichols added.

The CMS’ Medicare Star Rating system rates the quality and performance of Medicare Advantage plans to help consumers and their families compare plans. Medicare Advantage plans are rated on their ability to:

• Help members stay healthy

• Assist members in managing chronic conditions

• Ensure positive member experiences with their health plan

• Achieve member satisfaction

• Provide effective customer service

Additionally, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Plans are rated on how well they provide medication coverage along a number of factors: customer service, member complaints, member experience with drug plan, and drug safety.