Select Health of South Carolina celebrating 20 years

Founded in 1995, Select Health of South Carolina and First Choice, the state’s first and largest Medicaid health plan, are celebrating 20 years of helping people get care, stay well and build healthy communities. First Choice by Select Health, the established leader among South Carolina’s Medicaid managed care plans, has improved health outcomes for those most in need through member education, preventive care and effective disease management, creating $115 million in cost savings for our state last year alone. Select Health is headquartered in North Charleston, contracts with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) to deliver Medicaid services to 325,000 First Choice members statewide and is a member of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies.

“Our goal, to provide access to high quality health care and improve health and overall quality of life for those most in need, has remained constant through 20 years of service to the state of South Carolina,” said J. Michael Jernigan, Select Health founder and regional president at AmeriHealth Caritas. “I’m proud of all we’ve been able to achieve for the benefit of our First Choice plan members and the extended communities we serve, and extremely thankful for the tremendous support of Select Health associates, providers and community partners.”

First Choice by Select Health of South Carolina is the top-rated Medicaid health plan in the state, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA’s) Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2015-2016, and has been since 2010. This rating is based on strong results from the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, a tool that measures performance on important dimensions of care and service, as well as the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, which measures member satisfaction with their overall health care experience. In addition, First Choice is one of eight Medicaid plans in the country and the only health plan in South Carolina to hold the NCQA’s Multicultural Health Care Distinction, which recognizes the delivery of culturally and linguistically appropriate services.

Select Health also maintains a robust and highly satisfied provider network across South Carolina. According to an independent provider satisfaction survey, First Choice rated higher than any other South Carolina Medicaid health plan across all main categories of the survey. In addition, 90 percent of providers would recommend First Choice by Select Health to their patients as well as fellow providers.

“First Choice members, a majority of whom are children, have access to high quality health care because of our close partnership with SCDHHS and more than 10,000 providers statewide,” said Fred Hill, M.D., chief medical officer at Select Health and regional chief medical officer at AmeriHealth Caritas. “Our providers are our partners, and they are a critical component of our ability to improve the overall health and wellness of individuals, families and communities.”

Select Health is a major stakeholder in birth outcomes across South Carolina. According to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control data from 2014, the most recent available, First Choice covered more than 23 percent of all 57,631 births in the state. First Choice also covered more than 46 percent of the 29,772 babies born within the South Carolina Healthy Connections Medicaid program. Select Health and its Bright Start® prenatal program, which helps moms-to-be make healthy choices for themselves and their unborn babies, play a key role in the South Carolina Birth Outcomes Initiative, which is a collaborative effort to improve health outcomes for newborns in the Medicaid program and throughout the state’s population. Select Health is also the longstanding Premier Prematurity Campaign Partner of the South Carolina Chapter of the March of Dimes.

Helping children grow up healthy has always been a priority at Select Health. Annual well visits, which can be challenging for health plans to promote effectively with pediatric populations, are being completed at a high rate by Select Health due to multifaceted outreach to more than 100,000 First Choice members, comprising nearly one third of its membership. In particular, adolescent well visit compliance among 12 to 21-year-olds rose 27 percent from 2012 through 2014, in part due to member outreach and education featuring former University of South Carolina football star Marcus Lattimore.

Care management is another area of importance and achievement at Select Health, illustrated by a 30-day hospital readmission reduction of 18.1 percent in 2014 among First Choice health plan members with asthma alone or with one or more other chronic health conditions. This improvement was primarily the result of a comprehensive effort that included member and provider outreach, as well as initiatives to further enhance Select Health’s complex care management programs.

Select Health is a major employer with a workforce of nearly 500 associates, serving members, providers and communities statewide. Associates often cite a member-focused, mission-driven environment as a major reason that Select Health has been recognized by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, Best Companies Group and SCBIZ News as one of the “Best Places to Work in South Carolina” for eight consecutive years.

“Our associates are intensely focused on proactively addressing the health care needs of First Choice members,” said Rebecca Engelman, market president of Select Health. “Select Health has the strength, stability and expertise to lead South Carolina Medicaid managed care into the future, offering access to high quality, cost-effective health care for those who need it most.”

First Choice VIP Care Plus, Select Health’s Medicare-Medicaid Plan, launched in February 2015, and now serves members across 38 counties as part of South Carolina’s Healthy Connections Prime program. Healthy Connections Prime, part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Financial Alignment Initiative, is intended to improve care coordination for dual-eligibles, or people eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid. This plan allows members to get all of their Medicare, Medicaid and Part D benefits and services under one health plan.

For more information about Select Health, visit www.selecthealthofsc.com. View Select Health’s 2015 Message to the Community at www.selecthealthofsc.com/pdf/corporate/message-to-community.pdf.

ABOUT SELECT HEALTH

Select Health of South Carolina is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2015, which demonstrates our strength, stability and expertise in providing access to high quality health care for South Carolinians. Incorporated in 1995, Select Health was licensed as a Health Maintenance Organization by the South Carolina Department of Insurance in 1996. Later that year, the company contracted with the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services to offer First Choice, which is now the state’s oldest and largest health plan for Healthy Connections, South Carolina’s Medicaid program. First Choice serves members in all 46 counties statewide.

First Choice by Select Health of South Carolina is the top-rated Medicaid health plan in South Carolina, according to the NCQA’s Medicaid Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2015-2016, and has been since 2010. (The South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) uses other criteria for evaluating and ranking the performance of health plans serving Medicaid beneficiaries.) Select Health also holds NCQA’s Multicultural Health Care Distinction.

Select Health also offers the First Choice VIP Care Plus Medicare-Medicaid Plan in 38 counties of South Carolina and is a wholly-owned member of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies.