Dive Brief:
- BlueCross BlueShield of Texas (BCBSTX) and the Texas Medical Association (TMA) have teamed up to create what BCBS claims is a first-of-its-kind partnership called TMA PracticeEdge. While traditional ACOs pair with a hospital or health system, TMA PracticeEdge involves a medical association, and is intended to assist in the formation of accountable care organizations.
- The arrangement is especially meaningful in Texas because an estimated two-thirds of physicians in the state practice in independent solo or group practices, the TMA found in a 2014 survey. The partners say TMA PracticeEdge will help "connect physicians centered on the needs of their specific patients."
- Like traditional ACOs, this partnership will work to move its physicians to value-based care for BlueCross BlueShield of Texas plan members.
Dive Insight:
This move will be one to watch, particularly coming from two such large industry leaders: TMA is the country's largest state medical association, and BCBSTX covers more than 5 million plan members.
The aim is to provide TMA physicians the resources they need to provide coordinated and collaborative patient care, such as consultations to help reduce data-entry burdens and assistance managing high-risk patients, but the notable part of the release is the organization's commitment to individual physicians. ACOs have been criticized for being too one-size-fits all; if TMA PracticeEdge can create robust enough systems to serve that many disparate physicians, the opportunity to tailor value programs to hyper-specific populations could be significant.