Independence Blue Cross (Independence) has earned Health Equity Accreditation from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) for all its insurance plans.

Only approximately five percent of accredited plans nationally have been awarded this recognition for their health equity work.

The three-year Health Equity Accreditation recognizes and validates Independence's commitment to address the root causes of health inequity.

NCQA awards Health Equity Accreditation to organizations that meet or exceed its rigorous requirements for health equity. To earn the accreditation, health plans must show that they have a standardized framework in place to carry out their health equity efforts and an internal culture that supports those efforts.

They must also conduct work that helps reduce health inequities and improve care, as well as have a way to collect data on race, ethnicity, language, gender identity, and sexual orientation. This information helps make certain that the health plan offers services and provider networks that are mindful of their members' cultural and linguistic needs.

Earning this Health Equity Accreditation is a critical step on the Independence health equity roadmap to improve the health and well-being of all members. It also underscores the importance of our ongoing efforts to:

• Reduce racial disparities in severe maternal morbidity, depression screening, diabetes control, and more. One of the efforts Independence has underway to address maternal health outcomes is unconscious bias training for birth workers through the March of Dimes. To register, click here to create an account. To access the training:
1. Complete all fields in your account profile.
2. Enter ACT247 into ORG ID.
3. Click Save.
   
• Give members more opportunities to share feedback and participate in advisory committees. Independence hosts a Health Equity Summit for its members annually. In addition, members may join a Health Equity Advocacy Committee to provide feedback throughout the year.
• Remove race-based adjustments from clinical decision support tools which can lead to poorer outcomes and contribute to inequities in care for members. Independence announced in August that it convened a Regional Coalition to Eliminate Race-Based Medicine with health systems in the area.
• Collaborate with community partners, health systems, and universities to identify critical social determinant needs and barriers to health care access in the region. Provide support where most essential. Independence's current collaborations include: Accelerate Health Equity, Cocolife.black, Dedicated Senior Medical Centers, Oak Street Health, Uno Health, and the Well City Challenge.
• Communicate urgent health equity messaging through innovative public health campaigns, such as: Our Community. Our Health., Know Your Mind, #mindPHL Together, and Beat COVID-19. Independence also publishes a Health Equity blog series on IBX Insights.
• Support the people and organizations serving communities in southeastern Pennsylvania to improve access to care and increase educational opportunities through the Independence Blue Cross Foundation (IBX Foundation). The IBX Foundation Institute for Health Equity was launched in 2022 to advance health equity in the region and nation and held its inaugural Health Equity Forum in spring 2023.

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