Aetna and the Value Care Alliance Reach New Accountable Care Agreement
April 08 2015 - 12:52PM
Business Wire
New Accountable Care Model Will Serve Aetna
Members Throughout the State of Connecticut
Aetna (NYSE: AET) and the Value Care Alliance (VCA), the state’s
largest collaboration of independent health care providers, today
announced a new accountable care agreement that is designed to
improve the coordination and delivery of patient care to Aetna
members in Connecticut.
The VCA comprises seven member hospitals and their affiliated
physicians in Fairfield, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven and New
London counties. The hospitals are: Griffin Hospital in Derby;
Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in New London; Middlesex Hospital in
Middletown; St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport; and the
Western Connecticut Health Network which comprises Danbury
Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk Hospital.
Aetna members who receive care from VCA providers will
experience more coordinated care, and will benefit from the
improved flow of information to treating physicians in the ACO,
particularly those patients with chronic or complex conditions.
Aetna nurse case managers will work with the ACO to assist in care
coordination, outreach and follow-up services.
“This agreement builds upon a strong foundation of collaboration
already at work within the VCA and will enable Aetna to add support
for the care delivered by the VCA to our members,” said Mark
Santos, president, Aetna – New England. “Aetna will work closely
with VCA physicians and member hospitals to find opportunities to
share health information to improve care for Aetna members, close
gaps in care and reduce waste. We are creating a loop of improved
information to drive better care.”
Covered under the new agreement are more than 40,000 Aetna
commercial health plan members who primarily received care from
participating VCA providers over the last 24 months, as well as
those who seek care from VCA providers following the start of the
agreement. While health plan benefits will not change, members can
expect a more highly coordinated, personalized level of care. To
support these members, care coordinators at VCA member hospitals
will complement Aetna’s care management programs in an effort to
lower the number of days patients spend hospitalized and improve
member health outcomes.
“This innovative approach to the delivery of health care
strengthens our community’s access to affordable, high-quality
care,” said John M. Murphy, MD, president and CEO of the
three-hospital Western Connecticut Health Network. “The real
beneficiaries of this agreement are the people we serve every day
in our communities. This partnership will produce tangible and
meaningful improvements in our ability to coordinate care, which is
why we are so pleased to be a part of this progressive
collaboration.”
This agreement includes a shared savings model that rewards VCA
providers for meeting certain quality and efficiency benchmarks
that have been proven to improve the health of members and reduce
healthcare costs, 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
readmission rates; and
- Reductions in unnecessary emergency
room visits.
“The focus of the VCA is to provide high-quality and low-cost
health care including effective prevention and wellness services
that benefit Connecticut consumers, employers and health plans,”
said Vincent Capece, CEO of Middlesex Hospital. “Our accountable
care partnership with Aetna will enhance our ability to provide
care that is patient-centered, high-quality and efficient in a more
coordinated manner.”
Aetna is working with health care organizations nationwide to
develop products and services that support value-driven,
patient-centered care for all health care consumers. Nationally
today, about 3.2 million Aetna members receive care from doctors
committed to the value-based approach, with 28 percent of Aetna
claims payments going to doctors and providers who practice
value-based care. Aetna has committed to increasing that number to
50 percent by 2018 and 75 percent by 2020. This accountable care
agreement with the VCA is in keeping with the transition to more
value-based care arrangements.
“The VCA has evolved quickly since its founding in 2014, with
its members working collaboratively to enhance quality and reduce
cost by identifying and sharing best practices and to develop the
capabilities necessary to effectively manage the health of
populations,” said Patrick Charmel, chairman of the VCA and
president and CEO of Griffin Hospital. “We welcome Aetna’s
industry-leading effort to motivate, facilitate and reward the
delivery of high-value, patient-centered health care. We also
appreciate Aetna’s accountable care partnership and the confidence
in, and support of, the Value Care Alliance that it
demonstrates.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care
benefits companies, serving an estimated 46 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 and learn
about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @aetna
About Value Care Alliance
The Value Care Alliance (VCA) is a
collaboration among high quality, low cost Connecticut health care
systems. This includes seven member hospitals and their affiliated
physicians working together to enhance efficient, coordinated care
and promote local governance with shared leadership in health care
decision making. The Alliance provides opportunities to exchange
best practices among its members with the goal of reducing health
care expense and improving quality. Additionally, the Alliance
delivers data and analytical capabilities to enable efficient and
effective care management and optimize the coordination of care
across multiple settings. The Alliance is the largest collaboration
of independent health care providers in the state. Hospital and
physician leaders are working together to set the direction for the
Alliance and to enhance the delivery of clinically integrated care,
as it helps its members and their patients respond to the changing
health care environment. For more information, see
www.valuecarealliance.com.
Aetna Media Contact:Susan Millerick,
860-273-0536MillerickS@aetna.com
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