Dive Brief:
- Cleveland-based University Hospitals and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield have announced the creation of a new accountable care organization designed to serve members of Anthem's Medicare Advantage plan.
- The two have a history, having previously collaborated on the creation of an ACO for those in Anthem's commercial health plans. That ACO was announced last December.
- As with any ACO, the goal is to improve patient outcomes and contain costs through better provider/insurer communication and increased attention to preventive care.
Dive Insight:
University Hospitals, a non-profit health system encompassing 150 locations throughout northeast Ohio, has been a leader in the ACO movement for several years; its latest ACO with Anthem is its 10th so far. Currently, UH's ACOs serve a combined 270,000 members and their beneficiaries from commercial, Medicare and Medicaid plans.
As Crain's notes, however, UH and Anthem are not alone in the northeast Ohio Medicare Advantage ACO space. Akron-based Summa Health System and Humana announced an ACO agreement early this year that serves Humana's 55,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees located in northeast Ohio.