Every year, Paramount measures members’ satisfaction with the quality of their care and services. Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS^®)* surveys are conducted as part of our Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS^®)** review. These surveys are important because they help us understand how we can provide you with better care and service. They also enable us to judge how we compare to health plans across the nation.

Again this year, the results were strong. When compared to the national average, Paramount scored higher in all measures. This year, all satisfaction measures ranked in the top 10th percentile for accreditation. Here’s how Paramount compared to the national averages for 2006 in member satisfaction.

Measure	Paramount Rate	National Average
Getting needed care***	80.8%	79.3%
Getting care quickly***	81.4%	78.8%
How well doctors communicate***	92.9%	91.6%
Courteous and helpful office staff	93.1%	92.8%
Health plan’s customer service***	77.8%	72.6%
Claims processing***	92.9%	89.7%
Rating of health care	81.0%	77.4%
Rating of health plan	75.0%	66.9%
Rating of personal doctor	77.7%	77.0%
Rating of specialist seen most often	81.0%	77.5%

Accredited health plans significantly outperform nonaccredited plans. Public disclosure of performance data and independent accreditation remain important expectations of both public- and private-sector purchasers. For these reasons, Paramount remains committed to public reporting by maintaining accreditation through the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and achieving clinical performance results that compare favorably to national standards.

Paramount’s 2006 HEDIS^® data were submitted to Quality Compass^®**, a national database with information from nearly 250 health plans that allows purchasers to obtain regional and national comparisons of health plan performance. Paramount has consistently ranked in the top 25 percent of health plans nationally for the past eight years.

*CAHPS® is a registered trademark of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
**HEDIS® and Quality Compass® are registered trademarks of the NCQA.
***Statistically better than last year, P value < 0.01