SelectHealth Receives Senior Choice Gold Award for Excellence in 2013 Medicare Plan Benefits in Salt Lake City Area

<0> SelectHealthSpencer Sutherland, 801-442-7960Public Relations </0>

SelectHealthreceives national recognition for the cost-sharing effectiveness and value in the design of its 2013 medical and Part D prescription drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries. SelectHealthAdvantageis the only Medicare Advantage plan in the Salt Lake City area to qualify for the 2013 Senior Choice Gold Award.

Award recipients were selected from more than 200 Medicare managed care plans based on cost-sharing comparisons conducted by HealthMetrix Research Inc., a national independent managed care research firm.

“SelectHealthhas demonstrated a commitment to delivering maximum value in the design of their plan benefits, copayments, deductibles and premiums,” says HealthMetrix Research and MedicareNewsWatch.com president Alan Mittermaier.

The annual comparisons estimate the out-of-pocket costs for beneficiaries based on health status categories and corresponding utilization of the most common plan benefits.

The comparisons identify the Medicare plans with the lowest and highest estimated annual out-of-pocket costs based on the approved 2013 member copayments, deductibles and premiums that appear in the Medicare Options Compare database ().

HealthMetrix Research Inc. has provided independent information to a national audience of managed care organizations and consumers since 1996. The COSTSHARE REPORT is the most independent analysis of Medicare plan cost sharing available. HealthMetrix Research Inc. neither recommends nor endorses specific Medicare managed care plans.

SelectHealth is a  serving members in Utah and Idaho, and is committed to health improvement, superior service, and providing access to high-quality care. As a subsidiary of , SelectHealth is part of one of the nation's top-ranked integrated health systems. SelectHealth is also recognized as Utah’s top-ranked health plan, according to NCQA's Private Health Insurance Plan Rankings, 2012–2013. On the web: , , .