ST. LOUIS & DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SSM Health and Paladina Health have created a new joint venture to offer an innovative direct-to-employer primary care offering in the St. Louis region. The new company will enable employers to provide their employees and dependents with unparalleled access to high-quality health care services, while also reducing their overall costs.
In this new value-based care model, businesses will pay a flat fee for each employee’s primary care services. The employee can then access all of the primary care they need without co-pays or other additional out-of-pocket costs.
“With the continually rising cost of health care in the U.S., SSM Health is committed to finding new and innovative ways to make high-quality health care services affordable and sustainable,” said Carter Dredge, Chief Transformation Officer for SSM Health. “By partnering with like-minded organizations, like Paladina Health, we are able to rapidly reinvent care delivery and better meet the needs of the patients and communities we serve.”
“This partnership with SSM Health and its outstanding team helps us achieve our collective ambition to transform healthcare in America," said Chris Miller, Chief Executive Officer, Paladina Health. "Our combined effort is an example of the innovation and change needed to improve the health and well-being of Americans while realizing medical cost savings for both employers and their employees within the health care delivery system."
The new company expects to open its first clinic in the St. Louis region by the end of this year – and be available to St. Louis-area businesses in early 2020. The new care model will also be offered to SSM Health employees and their dependents covered by SSM Health’s medical plan.
Each clinic will be staffed by a family practice physician and medical assistant, and provides patients with:
- Convenient and personalized one-stop health care
- A provider who spends an average of 30-45 minutes with each patient per visit (vs. 10-15 minutes in a traditional PCP visit)
- 24/7 access to their provider via phone and/or email for urgent needs
- Same-day or next-day appointments
- Primary, preventive and acute care services, with no co-pay or other out-of-pocket costs
- In-house pharmacy and lab services at no cost
Physicians will also provide additional support to those at risk or suffering from chronic illnesses. By partnering with patients to manage chronic health conditions, physicians help them stick to long-term treatment plans and reduce their risk for serious and expensive complications.
“The healthcare service spectrum can be broad and confusing. This partnership combines the innovative Paladina Health model for primary care with the clinical depth of SSM Health’s acute care health system,” said Tobias Barker, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Paladina Health. “The result will be care delivered to employee families that is less complicated, less costly, more convenient and measurably better.”
“An estimated 75% of health care costs are due to chronic conditions, so helping patients better manage their health leads not only to better health – but also to lower costs,” said Don Tran, MD, President of SSM Health Medical Group in St. Louis. “In this model, physicians have smaller panel sizes so they can more holistically manage their patient’s healthcare needs – developing relationships and care plans that ensure their long-term health and well-being.”
The two organizations will share ownership in the new joint venture, with Paladina Health serving as the operating partner. In the months ahead, the new company will be evaluating opportunities to expand this primary care offering to other communities outside the St. Louis region.
About SSM Health
SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system serving the comprehensive health needs of communities across the Midwest through a robust and fully integrated health care delivery system. The organization’s nearly 40,000 employees and 11,000 providers are committed to providing exceptional health care services and revealing God’s healing presence to everyone they serve.
With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, SSM Health includes 23 hospitals, more than 290 physician offices and other outpatient and virtual care services, 10 post-acute facilities, comprehensive home care and hospice services, a pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company and an accountable care organization. It is one of the largest employers in every community it serves. For more information, visit ssmhealth.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Paladina Health
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado with 106 clinics in 19 states, Paladina Health offers patients direct and convenient, 24/7 access to their physicians by combining increased physician involvement with a data-driven approach focused on delivering better health outcomes. Paladina Health is consistently recognized for clinical outcomes that exceed HEDIS commercial PPO benchmarks and for providing patients more time with their provider to address health concerns while accessing a broad scope of services that can eliminate or minimize costly specialist visits. Employers, unions and health benefit sponsors who offer Paladina Health to employees aim to provide the highest-quality benefits while promoting a long-range goal of improving the health and wellness of their covered population. For more information, visit www.paladinahealth.com.