Thirty-one Upstate New York hospitals and health centers earned a combined $28 million in quality improvement payments from Excellus BlueCross BlueShield last year as part of the nonprofit health insurer’s hospital performance incentive program. Since 2005, Excellus BCBS has paid out more than $400 million in quality improvement incentives.
“It’s part of our mission to ensure that all in our communities have equitable access to high quality health care,” says Excellus BCBS regional president Eve Van de Wal. “The foundation for achieving that is a collaborative relationship with our local hospital and physician partners.”
Eight hospitals in the Utica-Rome-North Country region participated in this program in 2022, sharing $818,254 in quality improvement incentive payments. Participating hospitals included Adirondack Medical Center-Saranac Lake, Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital, Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Oneida Health Hospital, Rome Health, Samaritan Medical Center and St. Elizabeth Medical Center.
“In 2022, Excellus BCBS’s Hospital Performance Incentive Program evaluated participating hospitals on projects that are in alignment with and responsive to the ever-changing health care environment,” says physician Lisa Y. Harris, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Excellus BCBS.