American Specialty Health is First Complementary Health Care Organization to Earn NCQA ``Organizational Certification'' in Credentialing and Utilization Management.

SAN DIEGO -- American Specialty Health (ASH), the nation's leading complementary health care benefits organization, and the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently announced that ASH is the first specialty health organization for complementary health care to earn certification for both credentialing and utilization management.

The certification applies to two ASH subsidiaries, American Specialty Health Plans of California, Inc. (ASH Plans) and American Specialty Health Networks, Inc. (ASH Networks).

Each NCQA-certified organization is subject to a desktop audit, telephone interviews, and an onsite survey. Currently, health plans and employer groups may delegate responsibility for credentialing and utilization management to another organization -- such as ASH -- that specializes in those areas. As a result of this certification, NCQA-accredited organizations can streamline delegation activities when contracting with ASH. The benefit of contracting with an NCQA-certified organization is explained in its Nov. 2004 Organizational Certification policy memo. This certification affords industry-standard quality while making delegation more cost-efficient for ASH and its clients.

"We are extremely proud to have earned certification from NCQA in credentialing and utilization management," said George DeVries, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of ASH. "Achieving certification in both areas shows once again that ASH is committed to providing quality services to our contracted health plans and employer groups."

NCQA is an independent, not-for-profit organization dedicated to assessing and reporting on the quality of managed care plans, managed behavioral healthcare organizations, preferred provider organizations, new health plans, physician organizations, credentials verification organizations, disease management programs, and other health-related programs. Consumers can easily access health plans' NCQA Accreditation statuses and other information on health care quality on NCQA's Web site at www.healthchoices.org, or by calling NCQA Customer Support at [phone].

ASH and its subsidiaries are the nation's leading specialty benefits organization for complementary health care -- providing benefit, health education, wellness, and affinity discount programs to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups, and trust funds nationwide. Its subsidiary, ASH Plans, which operates in California, is the nation's first and largest specialty health plan for chiropractic and acupuncture, providing benefit programs to full-service health plans and employer groups. ASH Networks is a third-party administrator for complementary health care benefits for self-funded employers, insurance carriers, and health plans in more than 30 states. It provides ASH's administrative services and contracts with providers for ASH's national network of chiropractors, acupuncturists, and other providers. Based in San Diego, ASH has more than 500 employees and more than 12 million members in benefit programs nationwide. For more information about ASH, visit ASHCompanies.com or call [phone].