Dive Brief:
- Cigna has created its version of an accountable care organization with two healthcare organizations, one in Illinois and the other in Tennessee. In both cases, providers are being paid for medical and care coordination services.
- In Illinois, Cigna is working with Adventist Health Network, which is a clinically integrated network of providers that work with health system Adventist Midwest Health. The partnership extends to more than 5,000 Cigna members.
- In Tennessee, Cigna's collaborative accountable care initiative includes the Cumberland Center for Healthcare Innovation, an Advanced Payment Medicare Shared Savings Program composed of 37 medical practices. The partnership there reaches about 2,900 Cigna members.
Dive Insight:
Unless yours is a large and strong physician or hospital network, joining an ACO led by a health plan is a risky move. After all, their goal is already to lay off as much risk on you as they can. Working with them that closely gives them even more opportunities to demand that you take all the risk. If nothing else, it seems clear that working with a payer on a risk-sharing venture is hardly business as usual. It will be interesting to see whether the growing flood of payer-led ACOs are actually to providers' benefit.