Thirty-one upstate New York hospitals and health centers, including four in Western New York, earned a combined $28 million in quality improvement payments from the Rochester-based health insurer that includes Univera Healthcare. The funds are part of the nonprofit health insurer’s Hospital Performance Incentive Program which, since 2005, has paid out more than $400 million in quality improvement incentives.

“It’s part of our mission to ensure that all in our communities have equitable access to high-quality health care,” says Univera Healthcare President Art Wingerter. “The foundation for achieving that is a collaborative relationship with our local hospital and physician partners.”

The four hospitals and health systems in Western New York that participated in the program in 2022 are Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), Kaleida Health, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and UPMC Chautauqua.

“In 2022, the Hospital Performance Incentive Program evaluated participating hospitals on projects aligned with and responsive to the ever-changing healthcare environment,” says Lorna Fitzpatrick, M.D., Univera Healthcare vice president of medical affairs and senior medical director. Participating hospitals and health centers met goals in the following areas:

  • Clinical Processes of Care – Focused on improvements in follow-up after hospitalization; quality measures related to diabetes, chronic cardio obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and surgical care; and other quality improvement measures unique to each participating hospital,
  • Patient Safety – Centered on reductions in hospital-acquired infections, readmissions, and other adverse events or errors that affect patient care,
  • Patient Satisfaction – Used the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey, a national, standardized, publicly reported survey of patients’ perspectives of hospital care.

In addition to meeting required clinical and patient safety measures in 2022, other nationally endorsed measures and target outcomes were jointly agreed upon by each hospital and the health insurer using benchmarks established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and others.

Univera Healthcare is a nonprofit health plan that serves members across the eight counties of Western New York. To learn more, visit UniveraHealthcare.com.