AmeriHealth Caritas Florida Awarded the Multicultural Healthcare Distinction

 AmeriHealth Caritas Florida has been quite active this year, assisting in Hurricane Ian recovery efforts around the state of Florida.  Now the health care plan is being recognized by the NCQA with the Multicultural Healthcare Distinction.

AmeriHealth Caritas Florida operates as a Medicaid managed care plan through Florida’s Statewide Medicaid Managed Care program, serving enrollees living in Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Okeechobee counties. AmeriHealth Caritas Florida’s strength lies in its ability to foster collaboration among network providers to facilitate optimal health outcomes for members.

The group gained a lot of praise for their Hurricane Ian recovery efforts.  AmeriHealth Caritas Florida reportedly donated $10,000 to Feeding Florida’s current hurricane relief efforts of delivering food boxes and other needed items by Floridians across the impacted regions of the state.  Feeding Florida is a statewide version of Feeding America that has 5 of their 12 food banks directly serving areas affected by Hurricane Ian.

Now they have been given the Multicultural Healthcare Distinction because the health plan offers numerous services to meet the diverse needs of its membership, including:

·      Targeted programs and interventions to address identified health disparities

·       Bilingual staff

·       Cultural Responsiveness training for providers

·       Cultural Competency training for associates

·       Interpretation and translation language services

·       Written materials in members’ preferred language

"Receiving the Multicultural Health Care Distinction for AmeriHealth Caritas Florida underscores our commitment to health equity and addressing the social determinates of health with a high degree of cultural awareness and sensitivity," said AmeriHealth Caritas Florida Market President Kathy Warner. "Through this important work, we help to provide better health care access to all."

NCQA awards distinction to organizations that meet or exceed its rigorous requirements for multicultural health care.  "Earning Multicultural Health Care Distinction shows that an organization is making a breakthrough in providing excellent health care to diverse populations. I congratulate any organization that achieves this level of distinction," said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. "Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care is essential to improving the quality of care overall."