Keystone Mercy Health Plan Ranked #14 Among All Medicaid Plans Nationwide In U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2005

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Keystone Mercy Health Plan was ranked #14 among all Medicaid health plans, making it the top ranked plan in the Philadelphia region and one of the highest rated plans in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2005.

Located in Philadelphia, Keystone Mercy Health Plan is a health care ministry of the Sisters of Mercy in affiliation with Keystone First, Inc., and is the largest Medical Assistance managed care organization in Pennsylvania, serving more than 301,000 Medical Assistance recipients. Keystone Mercy's mission is to provide accessible, quality health care services to its members, with a special concern for the poor and disadvantaged.

"It is a great honor to be recognized as one of the top Medicaid managed care plans in the country by U.S. News & World Report/NCQA America's Best Health Plans 2005," said Daniel J. Hilferty, President and Chief Executive Officer, Keystone Mercy. "Our associates work hard every day to carry out our Company mission of providing quality and accessible health care services for our members. This special recognition validates the strength of our Company's commitment to quality health care for people with Medicaid coverage."

Released in the October 10th edition of U.S. News & World Report, this collaborative study ranked the nation's commercial Medicare and Medicaid health plans based on access to care (member's ability to get needed care quickly, health plan customer service), overall member satisfaction, prevention services (health screenings, prenatal care, childhood and adolescent immunizations, avoiding antibiotic overuse and well-child visits), treatment (how well the plan takes care of on-going health problems), and overall quality score (a combination of the scores from the four main categories above and NCQA accreditation). "America's Best Health Plans" is a trademark of U.S. News & World Report.

For more information about Keystone Mercy Health Plan, please visit http://www.keystonemercy.com.

CONTACT: Rick Buck, Keystone Mercy Health Plan, +1-215-863-5102, orrick.buck@kmhp.com

Web site: http://www.keystonemercy.com/