The Minnesota Department of Human Services, which operates the state’s Medicaid program, will apply quality standards to five major areas of the plan. Administrators will use standards from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to satisfy federal and state managed-care requirements in the areas of credentialing, utilization management, grievances, quality improvement and delegation. Minnesota joins the federal government and more than 30 other states that recognize NCQA accreditation to satisfy federal and state health care quality requirements.

“NCQA’s review process is thorough and rigorous,” says Vicki Kunerth, director of performance measurement and quality improvement for the state’s Department of Human Services. “We look forward to a productive relationship with NCQA.”

For more information, visit www.ncqa.org.

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