NCQA opens new standards to public comment

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) released for public comment draft standards for its 2007 accreditation and certification programs. The comment period ends April 7.

The NCQA announced it will add "Quality Plus" content areas to its 2007 accreditation requirements, in response to employer and consumer interest in health plan prevention, disease management, and communication.

Most significantly, the standards now include two new content areas for managed care organizations (MCO) and preferred provider organizations (PPO) seeking accreditation, as well as the inclusion of four new HEDIS measures in accreditation scoring for MCOs.

The NCQA's public comment page can be accessed at http://www.ncqa.org/Programs/Accreditation/PublicComment/index.htm. For more information, visit http://www.ncqa.org/communications/news/accred2007pubcomment.htm.