Anthem, Franciscan Form ACO
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAnthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is partnering with Mishawaka-based Franciscan Alliance to form an Accountable Care Organization. Anthem says the agreement will result in more efficient health care for approximately 63,000 members.
March 18, 2014
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the state's leading health insurer, and Franciscan Alliance, a statewide health system that includes 13 hospitals and 750 physicians, announced today the formation of an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) with the goal of improving collaboration, efficiency and ultimately, patient health.
This agreement will take effect April 1 and involve approximately 63,000 Anthem members.
“This is Anthem's first commercial ACO partnership in Indiana, and we are very excited that closer collaboration with Franciscan will improve the health of our members and make health care more affordable,” said Robert W. Hillman, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana.
The inefficiency that results from a fragmented care delivery system is widely recognized as an obstacle to more effective treatment of both acute and chronic conditions.
“Our health care system formed the first Medicare ACO Shared Savings in Indiana in 2012 and was among the first nationally to do so,” said Kevin Leahy, president and chief executive officer for Franciscan Alliance. “We have since established other Medicare and commercial ACOs throughout the state and continue to develop new collaborative models in line with the 'Triple Aim' goal – achieving better population health, providing higher quality of treatment and reducing the costs of care.”
Under an accountable care arrangement, the physician is responsible for managing all aspects of a patient's health–coordinating medical care, closely monitoring the patient in between visits, and ensuring necessary follow up care is received. The insurer pays the provider more for the medical services provided, and shares the savings that are realized when the patient stays healthy. The results are: lower costs, less absenteeism, higher worker productivity and more efficient use of provider resources.
“The biggest challenge in health care today is finding a way to improve quality while reducing costs,” said David Lee, M.D., vice president of provider engagement and contracting at Anthem. “We believe this ACO can address that challenge.”
Anthem's affiliated health plan in California reported improvements in several quality measures in the first year of its Accountable Care Organizations, including a 35 percent increase in the number of mammograms performed and a 44 percent increase in the appropriate prescribing of antibiotics for bronchitis treatment.
About Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc., an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and 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 Blue Shield Association. Additional information about Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana 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.
About Franciscan Alliance
The Franciscan Alliance healthcare ministry began in Lafayette, Ind., in 1875. Today, Franciscan Alliance is one of the largest Catholic health care systems in the Midwest with 13 hospital campuses, 20,000 employees and a number of nationally recognized Centers of Health Care Excellence. Hospitals include: Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Crown Point; Franciscan St. Anthony Health-Michigan City.; Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health-Crawfordsville; Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health-Lafayette East; Franciscan St. Elizabeth Health-Lafayette Central; Franciscan St. Francis Health-Carmel; Franciscan St. Francis Health-Indianapolis; Franciscan St. Francis Health-Mooresville; Franciscan St. James Health-Chicago Heights, Ill.; Franciscan St. James Health-Olympia Fields, Ill.; Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Hammond; Franciscan St. Margaret Health-Dyer; and Franciscan Healthcare-Munster. To learn more about Franciscan Alliance, visit www.franciscanalliance.org.
Source: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield