2025 Changes to Premera Designated Centers of Excellence

The Premera Designated Centers of Excellence (PDCOE) program provides financial incentive with advocacy and navigation support to members who engage in the program and receive their procedure at a designated, high-quality provider. Self-funded groups can select one or more of 11 specialties.

Effective January 1, 2025, Premera Blue Cross is expanding access across the top four PDCOE specialties, ensuring more members have options closer to home. This improved access is a result of removing the additional third-party curation used to further refine eligible facilities. Blue Distinction Centers+ (BDC+) distinction will now be the exclusive designation for these top four specialties:

• Total joint replacement (knee and hip)
• Spine
• Cardiac
• Bariatric

Both BDC and BDC+ designated providers continue to be used for all other specialties except maternity which remains BDC+ only. In Washington state, we continue to offer 19 more curated ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) for joint replacement procedures.

We’ll also be enhancing our algorithms to better identify and engage members who may be eligible for the program.

Contact your Premera account representative or producer for more information.