WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Association of Vision Care Plans (NAVCP) announced Wednesday that it has partnered with Gemini Diversified Services to launch an enhanced version of its Universal Credentialing Alliance (UCA) provider credentialing service, which went live Dec. 2. GDS is an independent credentials verification organization based in Orange County, California. NAVCP is deploying GDS’s custom GeminiI software-based solution to streamline UCA’s credentialing process and improve the customer experience for both eyecare professionals (ECPs) and managed vision care (MVC) alliance partner plans, according to the announcement.

Established in 2015, the alliance’s goal is to simplify the process to credential ECPs. This results in reduced ECP and MVC plan administrative workload to manage this required, essential administrative task, the announcement noted. UCA achieves this goal by:

Aligning the credentialing dates of providers that participate in multiple MVC plan networks.
Driving out redundant administrative and compliance costs for both ECPs and MVC plans.

ECPs should notice no difference in the interface used to submit their provider profile data under the new GDS partnership. All data will continue to be submitted through CAQH ProView (or OneHealthPort for Washington-based providers). ECPs may receive written correspondences that include the GDS logo at the top. MVC plans with whom the ECP participates with will be identified in the body of the correspondence, according to the announcement.

Eight managed vision care (MVC) plans currently participate in UCA: Avesis, EyeMed, MESVision, National Vision, UnitedHealthcare Vision/Spectera Eyecare Networks, UNUM, Versant Health and VSP Vision Care. To date, more than 53,000 ECPs are credentialed or will be credentialed through UCA in 2020, the announcement noted.

“NAVCP’s Universal Credentialing Alliance has exceeded expectations for simplifying eyecare professional credentialing and reducing administrative burden,” NAVCP executive director Julian Roberts said in the announcement. “Partnering with Gemini enhances our technological capabilities, streamlines the credentialing process even further, and sets us up nicely for our next level of service.”

NAVCP member companies operate extensive networks of vision care providers in all 50 states, and these networks cover approximately 179 million (or 55 percent) Americans, the association stated.