Living with Illness and Getting Better

Living with Illness and Getting Better 1996—2007
Click a green button to view trend charts showing rates of how well health plans promote the right care at the right time.

HEART HEALTH 2007 printer friendly version

There are over 927,448 deaths each year due to heart disease. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in America. Over one million new cases are identified each year. Out of 18.2 million Americans with diabetes, 65% will die from heart disease or stroke.

Advice to stop smoking

Beta blocker treatment after heart attack

Cholesterol screening after heart attack

LIVING WITH DIABETES 2007 printer friendly version

The number of people who have diabetes is rising in this country. Over 18 million Americans have diabetes, and more than 3,500 persons are newly diagnosed each day. This disease causes high levels of sugar in the blood, and this problem causes damage to eyes, kidneys, blood vessels and the heart. On average, diabetics who control their blood sugar will live five years longer.

Blood tests for people with diabetes: cholesterol and other fats (lipids)
Blood tests for people with diabetes: HbA1c (blood sugar control)
Eye exams for people with diabetes
Urine tests for people with diabetes
Lipid screening & control

Staying Healthy
Click a green button to view trend charts showing plans that provide recommended preventive care services.
Plans get better quality marks because they are working to keep members healthy.

WOMEN & CHILDREN'S HEALTH 2007 printer friendly version

Breast cancer screening
Caesarean Section (C-Section) rate
Cervical cancer screening
Infant immunization rate
Timeliness of prenatal care

MENTAL HEALTH 2007 printer friendly version

There are an estimated 57million adults in America with severe mental illness, and over 20 million are hospitalized each year. Four of the 10 leading causes of disability are due to mental health disorders. Major depression affects 19 million Americans each year, although 80% can be treated quickly and effectively with medication and counseling. It is a leading cause of decreased productivity, and lost work days from absenteeism and disability at an annual cost of $44 billion.

Follow-up after hospitalization for mental illness
Managing medication for depression—the first 12 weeks
Managing medication for depression—over 6 months
Patients with depression: seeing health care providers often

Heart Health
Advice to quit smoking

	1997	1998	1999	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NCQA benchmark						74%	75%	75%	78%	78%
Aetna-HMO			51%	^†NR	**	†NR	74%	79%	74%	68%
CIGNA-HMO	55%	70%	67%	63%	**	74%	78%	75%	72%	77%
CIGNA-POS		71%	62%	63%	**
Denver Health Medical Plan-HMO				78%	**	79%	75%	^†D	71%
HMO Colo-HMO/POS	63%	60%	69%	66%	**	64%	65%	74%	71%	70%
HMO Colo-POS		66%	53%		**
Kaiser-HMO	66%	71%	77%	78%	**	†na	71%	68%	75%	85%
PacifiCare-HMO	69%	68%	70%	70%	**	75%	71%	75%	75%	79%
PacifiCare-POS		71%	64%	70%	**
Rocky Mntn-HMO		67%	60%	65%	**	72%	67%	70%	75%	78%
United-HMO		74%	61%	63%	**	60%	67%	65%	67%	77%
United-POS		65%	69%	63%	**	**

†Not Reported—sample size too small.
†na—not applicable
^†D—Plan declined to report

RETURN to list of Heart Health measures

Advice to quit smoking. 2007 printer friendly version
Why is it important to me?
Nearly 48 million Americans smoke. 70% of smokers report that they would like to quit. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. It causes more than 400,000 deaths each year from heart disease, cancer and lung disease. People who smoke are 30% more likely to quit if their doctor advises it. About 50% of lifelong smokers will die from a smoking related illness and they will die 13.2 years (for men) and 14.5 years (for women) sooner than people who do not smoke.

Trend charts show how we are improving in Colorado and that our efforts are making a difference.
NCQA (National Committee for Quality Assurance) Benchmark plan scores guide our direction. This score defines excellence. It is the 90th percentile score for all health plans in the country that report their information to NCQA as of January.
ALL COLORADO is the average of Colorado health plans that report to the Colorado Business Group on Health.
U.S. AVERAGE is the score from all plans that report.

Heart Health
Beta blocker treatment after heart attack.

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NCQA benchmark						95%	95%	100%	100%	100%	*
Aetna-HMO/POS				87%	97%	97%	97%	†na	†na	na	*
CIGNA-HMO		88%			100%	100%	100%	99%	99%	100%	*
CIGNA-POS		88%									*
CIGNA-HMO/POS			84%	100%							*
Denver Health Medical Plan-HMO					†NR	†NR	†NR	†na	^†D	na	*
HMO Colo-HMO/POS		65%	53%	79%	98%	92%	95%	100%	100%	na	*
HMO Colo-POS		65%									*
Kaiser-HMO		83%	92%	95%	93%	98%	100%	98%	100%	100%	*
PacifiCare-HMO		57%			93%				100%	100%	*
PacifiCare-HMO/POS			73%	93%	93%	94%	96%	100%			*
Rocky Mntn-HMO		*	NR^†	96%	96%	95%	100%	96%	97%	98%	*
United-HMO		*	NR^†	86%	96%	97%	97%	†na	95%	97%	*
United-POS		82%	91%	86%	96%	97%	97%				*

†Not Reported—sample size too small.
†na—not applicable
^†D—Plan declined to report

* This measure is not reported this year

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Beta blocker treament after heart attack.
Why is it important to me?
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one cause of death in America. Heart disease causes an average of one death every 34 seconds. Beta blockers are drugs that effectively reduce risks of a second heart attack and death. As many as 1,200 lives could be saved every year if patients who are good candidates for beta blockers after a heart attack receive this medication when they leave the hospital.

Heart Health
Cholesterol screening after heart attack.

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NCQA benchmark			83%	83%	86%	86%	88%	92%
Aetna-HMO/POS	NR^†	68%	82%	82%	77%	77%	79%	90%
CIGNA-HMO/.POS	53%	76%	81%	81%	82%	82%	83%	86%
Denver Health Medical Plan-HMO		*	NR^†	†NR	†na	^†D	67%	80%
HMO Colorado-HMO	*				85%	85%	82%	87%
HMO Colorado-HMO/POS	*	46%	76%	76%
Kaiser-HMO	88%	94%	95%	94%	95%	94%	90%	97%
PacifiCare-HMO						85%	76%	88%
PacifiCare-HMO/POS	75%	77%	78%	82%	85%
Rocky Mntn-HMO	86%	77%	84%	84%	84%	84%	75%	85%
United-HMO	73%	74%	84%	84%	82%	88%	79%	89%
United-POS	73%	74%	84%	84%

†Not Reported—sample size too small.
†na—not applicable
^†D—Plan declined to report

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Cholesterol Screening. 2007 printer friendly version
Why is it important to me?
*Elevated cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol, or LDL) is a major risk factor for heart disease.

*LDL cholesterol deposits block the flow of blood through blood vessels, which causes heart disease and stroke.

*Over 100 million people in this country have high cholesterol levels higher than desireable.

*About 40% of people with high cholesterol will eventually die from heart disease.

*Screening and control of LDL levels can prevent heart attacks, and can help save lives. High cholesterol can be lowered with diet and medication.

Heart Health
Cholesterol control after heart attack.

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NCQA benchmark	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	66%
Aetna-HMO/POS	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	65%
CIGNA-HMO/.POS	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	65%
Denver Health Medical Plan-HMO	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	58%
HMO Colorado-HMO	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	65%
HMO Colorado-HMO/POS	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Kaiser-HMO	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	69%
PacifiCare-HMO	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	63%
PacifiCare-HMO/POS	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Rocky Mntn-HMO	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	62%
United-HMO	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	62%
United-POS	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

†Not Reported—sample size too small.
†na—not applicable
^†D—Plan declined to report

* This measure is not reported this year

RETURN to list of Heart Health measures

Cholesterol Control . 2007 printer friendly version
Why is it important to me?
*Elevated cholesterol (the "bad" cholesterol, or LDL) is a major risk factor for heart disease.

*LDL cholesterol deposits block the flow of blood through blood vessels, which causes heart disease and stroke.

*Over 100 million people in this country have high cholesterol levels higher than desireable.

*About 40% of people with high cholesterol will eventually die from heart disease.

*Screening and control of LDL levels can prevent heart attacks, and can help save lives. High cholesterol can be lowered with diet and medication.

Living with Diabetes
Eye exams for people with diabetes.

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NCQA benchmark							66%	68%	68%	69%	71%
Aetna-HMO/POS				44%	51%	59%	48%	46%	49%	49%	46%
CIGNA-HMO/POS	30%	NR^†	46%	41%	52%	61%	62%	58%	61%	61%	60%
Denver Health Medical Plan-HMO					60%	60%	78%	63%	^†D	52%	39%
HMO Colo-HMO/POS	25%	20%	30%	33%	35%	35%	44%	47%	49%	54%	36%
Kaiser-HMO	65%	55%	67%	73%	63%	89%	82%	78%	91%	64%	62%
PacifiCare-HMO	46%	42%	34%	54%	60%	60%	64%	44%	49%	52%	51%
Rocky Mntn-HMO		52%	52%	59%	58%	64%	65%	59%	58%	61%	63%
United-HMO		41%	45%	44%	50%	55%	45%	38%	46%	52%	47%
United-POS		45%	48%	44%	50%	55%	45%	38%

* The Healthy People 2010 goal is 75% What is Healthy People 2010?

^†D—Plan declined to report

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Eye exams for people with diabetes. 2007 printer friendly version
Why is it important to me?
Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness in people age 20 to 74. 12,000 to 24,000 new cases of blindness occur each year. A dilated retinal examination (not a "vision test") by an eye specialist can detect eye complications related to diabetes. With proper screening and treatment up to 40% of diabetes related blindness could be prevented.

Living with Diabetes
Urine tests for people with diabetes.

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
NCQA benchmark							58%