COLUMBUS, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio and Mount Carmel Health Partners announced today that they have launched a commercial Accountable Care Organization (ACO) together in central Ohio, which is designed to lower the cost of health care while improving overall quality.
An ACO is a provider organization that accepts the responsibility for both the cost and the quality of care delivered to a specific population of patients. The goal of an ACO is to positively impact patients’ health and better control expenses through improved communications with patients and coordination of healthcare services among hospitals, doctors, and insurance carriers.
Primary care physicians from Mount Carmel Medical Group already participate in Anthem’s Enhanced Personal Health Care program, an arrangement under which Mount Carmel Medical Group commits to delivering patient-centered care for Anthem members, and the insurer in turn compensates and rewards the Mount Carmel Medical Group for care coordination and shares cost savings when accompanied by high-quality care. The new ACO model launched in conjunction with Mount Carmel Health Partners expands the program to include 1,200 primary care and specialty physicians working together to coordinate care, improve quality and patient experiences, and manage costs. Anthem members who choose a provider from Mount Carmel Health Partners can expect a better patient experience, often resulting in higher quality care, better outcomes and ultimately lower costs.
“This is an exciting time for our two organizations and for the state,” said Claus von Zychlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mount Carmel Health System. “This agreement with Anthem will enable our clinically integrated network to expand its focus on increasing value to patients through improved quality and slowing the rate of healthcare cost increases, which over time will result in more affordable health care for central Ohioans."
"We are incredibly excited about this next step in providing improved quality and value of medical care to our community. This partnership with Anthem furthers our goals of our clinically integrated network to provide the best of care to the individual patient, care for the population as a whole and do so in a cost effective manner," said Daniel Wendorff, MD, President of Mount Carmel Health Partners.
“Ohio is fortunate to be at the forefront of a number of innovations in health care,” said Erin Hoeflinger, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, a company serving Ohioans for 75 years. “Mount Carmel is in a unique position because of its efficient and effective cost structure, broad range of services, and continued willingness to collaborate to deliver care that meets employer and consumer needs around high quality and affordability. As the largest carrier in the state, Anthem remains focused on collaborating with providers to implement programs aimed at improving the cost and quality of care. Together, we can improve health care delivery and affordability for people in the central Ohio region.”
In addition, both organizations will collect and analyze data on quality, costs, and utilization which enables them to identify opportunities to improve care and keep care affordable for patients and employers in Ohio.
Both organizations noted that this effort is yet another element of a strong collaboration between the two entities. Mount Carmel has for several years participated in Anthem’s Hospital Quality Improvement Program which provides financial incentives for outstanding quality performance, as well as other pay-for-performance arrangements related to primary care and other services.
“We will continually seek collaboration with key stakeholders across the state based on feedback from our customers about the kinds of products they want to see, with the goal to work toward better health outcomes,” said Hoeflinger. “We couldn’t be more pleased that Mount Carmel stepped up to the plate to partner with Anthem on this innovative program for consumers in central Ohio.”
About Mount Carmel Health System
A member of the Catholic Health Association and CHE Trinity Health, Mount Carmel has been a leader in patient care for more than 125 years. Our team of more than 8,000 employees, 1,500 physicians and 1,000 volunteers provides an array of cutting-edge, patient-focused primary and specialty healthcare services at four central Ohio hospitals and a free standing emergency department – Mount Carmel East, Mount Carmel West, Mount Carmel St. Ann’s, Mount Carmel New Albany and Mount Carmel Grove City. Mount Carmel also provides high-quality healthcare services at our surgery centers, multi-specialty physician group practices, ambulatory and urgent care centers, hospice, palliative care, home care services and through MediGold, a Medicare Advantage plan. Mount Carmel is dedicated to medical and nursing education and training as well, with six physician medical residency programs and the Mount Carmel College of Nursing – one of Ohio's largest baccalaureate nursing degree programs.
About Mount Carmel Health Partners
Mount Carmel Health Partners is a physician-hospital organization (PHO) dedicated to transforming the delivery of health care to meet the changing needs of our patients and the communities we serve. Health Partners is part of the Mount Carmel Health System with more than 1,200 primary care and specialty physicians making up its clinically integrated network. It is our mission to venture collaboratively to provide high quality, cost effective, coordinated, and innovative patient care in all health care settings.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Community Insurance Company, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. ®ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio is available at www.anthem.com. Also, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/healthjoinin, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HealthJoinIn, or visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/healthjoinin.