News Releases

The State of Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has selected Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG) as the External Quality Review Organization (EQRO) for services provided to the State's Medicaid members.

The base contract is for three years and will run through June 30, 2009, with options for renewal through June, 2012. A phase-in period will be in effect from now until June 30, and the full implementation will officially begin July 1.

"We received the award confirmation ... and obviously we're ecstatic with the news, to say the least," said Mary Ellen Dalton, Executive Vice President at HSAG. "It reflects extremely well on HSAG and the quality of work we produce, as well as the local presence and knowledge for which our sub-contractor, FMQAI, is respected."

The scope of work will include:

• Validation of performance improvement projects (PIPS).
• Validation of performance measures.
• Review of compliance with standards.
• Strategic reports on consumer-reported surveys.
• Strategic HEDIS analysis reports.
• Technical assistance on race/ethnicity/language.
• Value-based purchasing methodologies.
• Evaluation of quality strategy.
• Focused studies.
• Dissemination and education.
• Technical report.

An initial kick-off meeting with the state's managed care organizations is scheduled for Tuesday, June 27, 2006. The meeting will occur from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Immediately following the kick-off meeting, HSAG will be providing a hands-on training on Performance Improvement Projects. The training will occur from 2:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Both events will take place in the AHCA Conference Room A, Building Three, in Tallahassee, FL.

The contract award establishes HSAG as one of the largest EQRO contractors in the nation. HSAG now holds EQRO or "EQRO-like" contracts in 11 states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington.

For more information about the Florida EQRO contract, visit www.myfloridaeqro.com or contact Peggy Ketterer, RN, BSN, CHCA, Executive Director, Contract Manager for Florida, at 602.745.6322 or pketterer@hsag.com.