Bethesda, MD [January 10, 2018]—Today, Aledade, Inc. and Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah announced a new partnership expanding Aledade’s Utah Accountable Care Organization (ACO) to provide high-quality, coordinated care to 4,000 Regence plan members cared for by its practices. Under Aledade’s first commercial contract in the state, Regence and its members will benefit from Aledade’s innovative physician-led ACO model that rewards doctors for improving quality of care and patient health outcomes, while lowering costs.
“Utah has always been known for quality and innovation in healthcare. Aledade is proud to partner with Regence, a longtime leader in the state, to expand our unique primary care physician-led ACO model,” said Scott Segell, vice president at Aledade. “Regence members are the real beneficiaries of this partnership that allows independent primary care practices to take advantage of value-based opportunities with payers that have previously only been available to large physician networks and hospital providers.”
Aledade’s Utah ACO will take on accountability for the total health care experience of Regence members who see an ACO primary care physician. Aledade offers a new model of primary care by partnering with physicians to build and lead ACOs that allow doctors to stay independent, practice medicine like they’ve always wanted to, and thrive financially by keeping people healthy. In this partnership, Regence patients get to keep their primary care doctor while seeing the results of Aledade ACO practices’ focus on care coordination, population health management, and preventive care.
“We’re very pleased about our new collaboration with Aledade,” said Jim Swayze, president of Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah. “Their nationally deployed and proven ACO model aligns perfectly with our long-standing priority of working closely with leading provider groups who share our belief that Utahns deserve high quality, well-integrated health care at an affordable cost.”
Regence, Utah’s first health insurer, also has the distinction of being the first insurer to offer an accountable health solution, called Total Cost of Care, to the market in 2013. The inclusive care management model offers members the opportunity to align with their choice of physician groups, rather than requiring selection from a single system. Over the past five years, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah and its affiliated health plans have implemented over 50 value-based agreements – including the Total Cost of Care program – with providers across Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington.
Founded in 2014, Aledade’s Accountable Care network has grown to include more than 260 independent, physician-led practices across 18 states that together represent more than 360,000 covered lives and $2.5 billion in health care spending. Aledade’s value-based primary care model now delivers care across all payer and patient populations, including Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and commercial health plans.