Health Plan of Michigan Ranked Number One Among Medicaid Health Plans in Michigan for Access to Medications for African...( DETROIT May 19 /- Detroit-based H...),Health

DETROIT, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Detroit-based Health Plan of Michigan (HPM) has been recognized as the number one Medicaid health plan in the State of Michigan for access to prescription medications for the African American population. HPM has received this designation from the Grand Rapids African American Health Institute (GRAAHI). HPM was ranked fourth overall in the State of Michigan when Medicaid and Commercial plan rankings are combined.

Health Plan of Michigan will receive an award for this achievement on Tuesday, May 20 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Raymond Pitera, Director of Provider Services will accept this award on behalf of the health plan.

Rankings are based on a review of each health plan's formulary as it relates to access to medications for disease states of high prevalence within the African American population. Those disease states include: Asthma, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia. A review of mental health medications was also incorporated into the study.

A total of twenty commercial and Medicaid health plans were ranked in this study. The full results are available at http://www.graahi.org .

Health Plan of Michigan is the third largest Medicaid HMO in the State of Michigan, providing health care services to over 146,000 Medicaid enrollees through a contract with the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH). HPM is a privately owned and physician managed Medicaid health plan. Its corporate headquarters is located in Detroit, Michigan. Currently HPM operates in 42 Michigan counties. In 2007, HPM was ranked among the Top 10 Medicaid health plans in the country, according to U.S. News/NCQA's America's Best Health Plans. The company has attained an NCQA rating of "Excellent" which is the highest accreditation rating that can be obtained by a managed care organization. For more information, visit