NCQA to evaluate wellness programs
The National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA’s) proposed standards and measures for a new Wellness and Health Promotion (WHP) product evaluation have been released for public comment.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance’s (NCQA’s) proposed standards and measures for a new Wellness and Health Promotion (WHP) product evaluation have been released for public comment.
The program will examine organizations that provide health and wellness services to employers and health plans. The WHP product suite includes a broad-based accreditation program for organizations that offer comprehensive wellness services as well as certification for organizations that only offer specific components such as health appraisals and self-management tools. NCQA also is proposing a separate accreditation program for organizations that offer stand-alone weight management or smoking cessation programs.
“Development and implementation of wellness programs has been the trend for the last several years,” says MHE Editorial Advisor Paula Sauer, vice president of care management at Medical Mutual of Ohio. “The new measurement system will allow employers and managed care executives to select a wellness vendor that has undergone a significant external review process.”
At the same time, employers will be able to evaluate and compare vendors, she adds.
As with any new accreditation program, health plans will have to evaluate their current programs, identify any missing items and implement changes that are needed to ensure compliance with the standards, according to Sauer.
“This will take human resource time and potential additional financial investments,” she says.
After public comment, NCQA will revise both standards and measures, as well as revise based on results from pilot testing and field testing.
“We are now analyzing the pilot tests for the standards and will field test the measures [this month],” NCQA spokesperson Lauren Funk tells MHE.
In September, both go to NCQA’s Health Promotion Advisory Committee, then the NCQA Standards Committee and Committee for Performance Measurement later in the fall for approval. Final approval by the Board of Directors is scheduled for December, and the program is scheduled to launch early 2009.
Conversations With Perry and Friends: Paul Fronstin, Ph.D.
May 9th 2025Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a longtime member of the Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisory board, is host of the Conversations with Perry and Friends podcast. In this episode, his guest is Paul Fronstin, Ph.D., director of health benefits research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Listen
FDA Lifts Safety Restrictions on CAR T Therapies After Reviewing Real-World Data
July 2nd 2025FDA officials have determined that information regarding the risks for six CAR T-cell therapies can be communicated through product labeling, which includes a boxed warning for the risks of cytokine release syndrome and neurological toxicities.
Read More
Conversations With Perry and Friends
April 14th 2025Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a longtime member of the Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisory board, is host of the Conversations with Perry and Friends podcast. His guest this episode is John Baackes, the former CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan.
Listen
