MIDDLETOWN, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Northeast Medical Group, Inc. (NEMG) today announced upcoming enhancements to their long-standing Physician Group Agreement in Connecticut. A new contract addendum, effective July 1, will facilitate improved care coordination and care quality for Aetna members while lowering their overall health care costs. Aetna members covered under fully insured and self-funded plans in Connecticut who have sought care from NEMG providers in the past 24 months are included in this new program with NEMG.
“Consumers belong at the center of a health care system that promotes wellness, provides better care for chronic conditions and uses economic incentives to reward positive health outcomes,” said Martha Temple, president of Aetna’s New England operations. “When physicians and health plans work together, care improves for the people we serve. This new collaboration will provide NEMG physicians with useful information that will support more patient outreach, better care coordination and a health care experience that is simpler and more effective.”
Under the new collaboration agreement, Aetna will reward NEMG and NEMG physicians for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction via specified measures such as:
- The percentage of Aetna members who receive recommended preventive care and screenings;
- Better management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure;
- Reductions in avoidable hospital readmissions;
- Reductions in avoidable emergency room visits by improving primary care access hours and care coordination; and
- Reductions in total pharmacy costs.
Aetna will also help defray NEMG’s costs for care coordination personnel and health information technology that will benefit Aetna members.
“Our collective goal is to drive high quality care for our patients in the most cost effective manner possible,” said Robert Nordgren, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Northeast Medical Group. “We recognize the changing health care landscape requires us to work in continued partnership with our patients to ensure their health and exceptional outcomes and we are enthusiastic about working with Aetna to achieve these goals.”
Aetna is working with health care organizations across the country to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care for all health care consumers. To learn more about Aetna’s commitment to building a collaborative health care system, please visit our annual report, Building a Healthier World, at www.aetnastory.com.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 44 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.
