Blue Shield of California Expands CalPERS NetValue Se...( - Lower Rate Plan...),Health

- Lower Rate Plan Now Available in Imperial, San Francisco, San Mateo and San Luis Obispo Counties -

SAN FRANCISCO, July 21 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California announced today that it will expand the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) NetValue(SM) service area as of January 1, 2010 to include the counties of Imperial, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and the northern part of San Mateo. First offered in 2008, the NetValue HMO plan offers CalPERS members a lower rate HMO plan option in exchange for using a smaller network of medical groups. Participating providers in the NetValue network for the four new counties include, Imperial County Physicians in Imperial County; Brown & Toland, Hill Physicians and Chinese Community in San Francisco; Heritage Coastal Communities in San Luis Obsipo; and Brown & Toland and Hill Physicians in San Mateo. In order to participate in this network, medical groups must meet basic cost efficiency criteria and must meet or exceed quality standards based on nationally-recognized quality metrics.

"Providing effective care while controlling rising healthcare costs is absolutely critical," said Tom McCaffery, vice president of CalPERS Sector at Blue Shield of California. "Expanding our CalPERS NetValue network allows us to offer more people this lower cost option without sacrificing quality."

As of May 2009, the NetValue HMO plan covered over 110,000 lives in the counties of: Fresno, Kings, Madera, Orange and Yolo counties, and parts of El Dorado, Kern, Los Angeles, Nevada, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. When the plan is offered in the four new counties in 2010, an additional 23,000 CalPERS
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