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= Sharp Health Plan = Sharp Health Plan is a not-for-profit commercial health insurance company that serves the San Diego and southern Riverside counties. Sharp Health Plan is a local subsidiary and health insurance branch of Sharp HealthCare, a San Diego-based health care system that includes four acute-care hospitals, three specialty hospitals and three affiliated medical groups.

History
Sharp Health Plan was founded in 1992. For their first 20 years of operation, the company's majority of business was built by providing HMO plans under the Sharp Health Plan brand to small and mid-sized businesses in the greater San Diego region.

In 2013, it was announced that Sharp Health Plan would be offered through the Covered California individual and SHOP marketplace. This led to a marked increase in their membership.

In 2014, the company entered two new markets, the individual market (including the health insurance marketplace through Covered California) and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) market. After two years, Sharp Health Plan was able to attain a 17% share of Covered California enrollees and a 20% share of CalPERS enrollees living in San Diego County.

In 2016, the company’s total employer-sponsored enrollment reached 102,000 and its individual enrollment totaled 28,000.

In 2020, Health Plan Alliance reported that Sharp Health Plan had 142,751 enrolled members and 248 employees.

In 2022, the San Diego Union-Tribune San Diego's Best Readers Poll voted for Sharp Health Plan as "Best Health Insurance" in the region. The U.S. News and World Report also named Sharp Health Plan in a 2023 list of "Best Insurance Companies" for Medicare Advantage plans in California.

Current leadership

 * Melissa Hayden Cook has been president and chief executive officer since 2005.
 * Rita Datko has been vice president and chief financial officer since 2005.
 * Leslie Pels-Beck has been chief operations officer since 2001 and vice president since 2005.
 * Michael Byrd has been vice president and chief business development officer since 2011.
 * Dr. Cary B. Shames has been vice president and chief medical officer since 2015.

Services
Sharp Health Plan offers health insurance to San Diego residents through individual, Medicare Advantage and employer-sponsored plans (also called group plans). Because Sharp Health Plan is affiliated with Sharp HealthCare, their members have access to Sharp HealthCare’s medical groups, hospitals and providers through their respective plans:


 * Individual plans: Multiple benefit plans across two primary networks
 * Medicare Advantage plans: Four different benefit plans across one network, with “exclusive” plans for City of San Diego retirees, State of California retirees and former Sharp HealthCare employees
 * Employer-sponsored plans: A variety of small group and large group benefit plans across four networks

All plans include the following services: Sharp Nurse Connection®, an after-hours nurse advice phone service; emergency travel services through Assist America ; and Best Health®, an accredited wellness program that offers health coaching, classes and other wellness services, such as Active&Fit Direct® and Silver&Fit®.

In 2013, Sharp Health Plan and MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark, announced their clinical affiliation. This partnership allows Sharp doctors to oversee nurse practitioners who provide services to the walk-in clinics.

Quality of care
With oversight from health care regulatory bodies including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the State of California’s Office of the Patient Advocate, National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and Covered California, Sharp Health Plan received the following ratings related to quality of care:

Their wellness program also received NCQA's Wellness & Health Promotion Accreditation.
 * 5 out of 5 overall star rating from Medicare for 2023
 * 4 out of 5 in NCQA’s commercial Health Plan Ratings 2022
 * 4-star summary quality rating from Covered California

According to NCQA, Sharp Health Plan is one of the highest-rated health plans in California. In 2022, they were among the top companies with the highest member ratings for health care, health plan and specialist among reporting California health plans.

Community partners
Sharp Health Plan and Sharp HealthCare partner with local organizations and provide support through financial contributions and volunteer work. In 2019, Sharp HealthCare reported providing $462 million in community benefit programs and services.

Sharp Health Plan’s website highlights the following community partners:

2-1-1 San Diego

2-1-1 San Diego connects residents to community service organizations using a free 24-hour confidential phone service and an online database. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sharp Health Plan directed website visitors to 2-1-1 for additional coronavirus information to keep phone lines clear for patients needing immediate care.

Chicano Federation

The Chicano Federation provides resources for San Diego community members and offers programs for child development, child nutrition, housing and workforce and business development.

The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank

The San Diego Food Bank distributes food to individuals and families in need throughout San Diego County and serves an average of 350,000 people per month within the county.