What is the NCQA?
The National Committee for Quality Assurance is a private, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. Since its founding in 1990, NCQA has been a central figure in driving improvement throughout the health care system, helping to elevate the issue of health care quality to the top of the national agenda.
The NCQA seal is a widely recognized symbol of quality. Organizations incorporating the seal into advertising and marketing materials must first pass a rigorous, comprehensive review and must annually report on their performance. For consumers and employers, the seal is a reliable indicator that an organization is well-managed and delivers high quality care and service.
NCQA has helped to build consensus around important health care quality issues by working with large employers, policymakers, doctors, patients and health plans to decide what’s important, how to measure it, and how to promote improvement. That consensus is invaluable — transforming our health care system requires the collected will and resources of all these constituencies and more.
What is ACO Accreditation?
NCQA ACO Accreditation helps health care organizations demonstrate their ability to improve quality, reduce costs and coordinate patient care. Built from our successful patient-centered medical home (PCMH) recognition program, NCQA’s ACO standards and guidelines incorporate whole-person care coordination throughout the health care system.
Automatic Credit Is Available for NCQA-Recognized Patient-Centered Medical Homes: PCMH Recognition automatic credit is awarded to organizations that apply for NCQA ACO Accreditation and have 70 percent or more of their patients attributed to NCQA-Recognized PCMH practices.
Accreditation Levels
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Level 1Organizations beginning the transformation and providing the basic infrastructure and some of the capabilities to meet the triple aim of better patient experience, better health and lower per capita cost. The length of status is 2 years
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Level 2Organizations demonstrating well-established capabilities outlined in the standards to meet the triple aim of better patient experience, better health and lower per capita cost. The length of status is 3 years.
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Organizations meeting Level 2 criteria AND demonstrating strong performance or significant improvement in performance measures across the triple aim of better patient experience, better health and lower per capita cost. The length of status is 3 years
To achieve a Level 3 accreditation, organizations must demonstrate strong or improved performance in a combination of triple aim measures through participation in an NCQA-approved regional collaborative or national measurement initiative. If there is no regional collaborative or national measurement initiative to which an organization can report performance measures, Level 2 is the highest level that organization can achieve.
Recently The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recognized the JRFCHC for earning the national recognition for Patient-Centered Care (level 3) for using evidence- based, patient centered processes that focus on highly coordinated and long-term, participative relationships.
As a FQHC, we are the safety net provided to the medically undeserved such, as Medicaid beneficial and uninsured patients. In addition, with a sliding fee scale, FQHC will provide much needed health care and human services to those with an income at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Line including those individuals that meet the federal definition of homelessness. By HUD definition that includes “Individuals unable to maintain their housing situation and are forced to stay with a series of friends and/ or extended family members.
