BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 20 ECEMBER 21-27, 2018 BTR
MetroPlus Health Plan executives, partners and elected offi cials cut the ribbon, marking the
grand opening on Southern Boulevard. Photo by Silvo Pacifi co
MetroPlus opens Bronx facility;
ranked NYC’s highest-rated plan
BY ALEX MITCHELL
MetroPlus Health Plan hosted a
grand opening celebration and holiday
toy distribution at its new communitybased
offi ce in Longwood on Wednesday,
December 12.
Held at the fi rst Bronx-based
MetroPlus Community Offi ce, 953
Southern Boulevard, it was a fun-fi lled
holiday event with toys and healthy
treats. The grand opening offered free
dental screenings for children, teens,
and young adults, ages 2 to 20.
More than being fun for an entire
family, the new location will also position
MetroPlus to tackle a critical
health care issue the Bronx is faced
with.
Roughly, out of the Bronx’s 1.4 million
people, 313,055 or 22% of Bronx
residents are uninsured. MetroPlus
chief growth offi cer Roger Milliner
has made it his personal mission to
slash that number drastically with the
opening of the new ‘brick and mortar’
location.
“Our goal is to bring affordable
healthcare to the Bronx now,” he said
mentioning how the facility will also
be used for basic medical screenings
as well as community space, including
offerings of English as second language
classes.
“We want to be part of the community,”
Milliner added.
The location on Southern Boulevard
near East 163rd Street was a strategic
decision, according to MetroPlus’
Bronx supervisor Rasheeda Petersten.
“We chose this location for a number
of reasons, the primary one being
the population density in the immediate
area as well as how many of these
people are not insured,” Petersen said,
mentioning that the area’s huge number
of transit options also played into
the site’s selection. “The goal now is
to take over the Bronx market share,”
she added.
Petersen went on to explain that before
all of that, the goal was to simply
bring affordable insurance to those in
need.
Fittingly enough, just days following
that grand opening, MetroPlus announced
that it has been ranked New
York City’s highest-rated health plan,
according to the NYS Department of
Health’s 2018 Consumer’s Guide to
Medicaid and Child Health Plus Managed
Care Plans in New York City.
The annual rating is based on managed
care plans on quality of care delivered
in addition to members’ satisfaction
with the care and services they
receive. Across the city, MetroPlus
Health Plan earned an overall rating of
fi ve stars, the highest possible score.
“This outstanding result is another
indication of the superior healthcare
and coverage that MetroPlus members
receive and is refl ective of the excellent
MetroPlus provider network that
puts quality healthcare and our members
fi rst,” said Dr. Arnold Saperstein,
president and CEO of MetroPlus.
The 2018 Consumer’s Guide rates
plans on ten distinct measures across
three categories, preventive and wellcare
for adults and children, quality
of care provided to members with illnesses,
and patient satisfaction with
access and services, ultimately resulting
in an overall rating of 0 to 5 stars.
The health plan’s 2018, fi ve-star
overall rating included fi ve stars in
the clinical areas of cardiovascular
care, diabetes care, child and adolescent
care, women’s preventive care
and adult care.
MetroPlus’ new Bronx location’s
hours will be 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday
through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on
Saturday, and Sundays by appointment
only.
For a list of MetroPlus locations
and hours of operation, including the
new Bronx location, visit https://www.
metroplus.org/business-communitypartners/
metroplus-near-you.
PHOTO SPREAD ON PAGE 36
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