COMMUNITY FIRST TAKES ON NEW CHALLENGES University Health System's locally owned, nonprofit health plan, Community First Health Plans, grew by leaps and bounds this year in preparation for the November launch of the STAR Kids program. STAR Kids is a special-needs population with high-intensity case management needs. Community First was one of two plans awarded a contract by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to take care of these children in Bexar and surrounding counties. "Community First Health Plans is proud to have been selected as one of the plans to administer the STAR Kids Program," said Greg Gieseman, president and CEO of Community First. "Being able to serve our members through the STAR Kids program allows us to provide quality access to healthcare for families of children with medically complex needs. Community First went through a rigorous process to successfully prepare for implementation of the program in November 2016, and we are pleased with the results of the health plan's success in its first month. As the largest Medicaid and CHIP health plan in the Bexar service delivery area, we are able to provide further access to care the San Antonio community." Community First remains the leader in local STAR Medicaid coverage, with 44 percent of the market share and 108,900 members, and in CHIP, with 63 percent and 17,500 members. Community First celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015. As part of the celebration, it created an innovative "Fall Ahead" awards program, which gave $2,500 competitive grants to seven San Antonio-area teachers in 2016 to fund sustainable, health-related projects in schools. The awards went to teachers at Barbara Bush Middle School, Collins Garden Elementary School, Five Palms Elementary School, Hidden Forest Elementary School, McAndrew Elementary School, Nimitz Middle School and South San Antonio High School. Among the winning projects were a self-sustaining greenhouse at Nimitz Middle School inspired by the movie "The Martian," and an outdoor community library at Five Palms Elementary. Other highlights included: • A successful Network Access Improvement Program project with University Health System that provided Medicaid clients with improved access to care. • The highest overall star rating in the Bexar service delivery area for Medicaid children and CHIP under the Health and Human Services Commission's "star" ratings system. • Community First's commercial, Medicaid and Marketplace lines were accredited by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, or NCQA. • A new coordination of benefits program was initiated and helped Community First reduce its medical expenses by more than $1 million. • Surveys showed member satisfaction with Medicaid and CHIP plans improved to the 75th percentile nationally- or among the top-performing 25 percent of plans. Member satisfaction with the care they received was in 75th percentile for adults covered by Medicaid and 95th percentile for children covered by Medicaid. • A separate survey showed more than 93 percent of our physicians and other providers were "very satisfied" with Community First.
2016 See How We See Annual Report
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