Dive Brief:
- Arlington-based Texas Health Resources and Texas Health Physicians Group have partnered with Cigna to form a collaborative accountable care initiative, an organization which is Cigna's version of an ACO.
- Under the terms of the agreement, the roughly 250 primary care physicians involved will coordinate all care for the patient, working with care coordinators within Cigna.
- The initiative includes more than 17,000 Cigna health plan members.
Dive Insight:
Cigna is continuing to strike its own ACO deals, rather than wait for an independent party with more potential negotiating power to come to its doorstep. For example, about a week ago Cigna announced the formation of what it calls "collaborative accountable care" initiatives in Illinois and Texas. To date the CACs only impact a small percentage of Cigna's beneficiaries, but if they work, I believe we can expect Cigna (and its rivals) to sweep up as many patients as possible into such structures.