-- Banner | Aetna builds upon five years of
collaboration in accountable care between the two organizations --
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aetna (NYSE: AET)
and Banner Health today announced the creation of a jointly owned health
plan company, Banner | Aetna, that will focus on improving quality,
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affordability and the patient experience. The partnership will combine
Banner’s care management capabilities and high-quality facilities,
providers and delivery system with Aetna’s leading health plan
expertise, cutting-edge analytics and health information technology.
Together, they will provide health coverage to employers and their
employees in Maricopa and Pinal counties with plans for future statewide
expansion.
This partnership, which builds upon the success of Aetna and Banner’s
five-year Accountable Care Organization (ACO) relationship, previously
announced in 2011,
strengthens the companies’ shared commitment to reward value over volume
of care for the delivery of better outcomes and lower health care costs.
The new health plan will focus on the consumer experience by combining
fully integrated care teams, health insurance and administrative
services, with a goal of eliminating redundancies in care as well as
administrative hassles. Savings achieved by streamlining care and
services will be passed on to consumers and employers through lower
premiums.
“We are committed to finding new ways to deliver more efficient and
effective care for our members in Arizona and across the country,” said
Gary Loveman, Aetna’s executive vice president and president of Consumer
Health and Services. “Together, Aetna and Banner are rethinking,
reimagining and redefining the health care model to reward better
outcomes and create healthier days for our customers.”
New commercial products for fully insured and self-insured customers in
Maricopa and Pinal counties will be available beginning January 1, 2017.
Aetna members who are currently part of the Aetna Whole Health Network
ACO plans will have the opportunity to transition into plans offered
through the new partnership.
“When payers and providers come together in this kind of genuine
collaboration—with a joint approach to serving members and advancing
population health-- then we have a rare opportunity to reinvent what
health care will look like tomorrow,” said Peter S. Fine, president and
CEO of Banner Health. “This joint venture is a bold move in that
direction.”
This new partnership will enable high quality and integrated care for
Aetna members by providing access to the Banner Health Network, which
includes more than 900 primary care physicians and more than 5,800
specialists with access to more than 125 urgent care centers, as well as
14 hospitals, nine health centers, and 11 emergency centers. Doctors
within the network will work hand-in-hand to provide the highest level
of care coordination which will lead to better patient satisfaction and
improved health outcomes.
Aetna and Banner will change the health care experience for Arizona
residents by:
Streamlining customer service interactions by linking Aetna’s secure
member site to Banner’s patient portal, enabling members to find
information on their plan, providers, schedule appointments, view
claim histories, and view lab and test results;
Providing hassle-free access to care through a Member Experience
Center (MEC), a 24-hour phone line managed by local Banner nurses; and
Increasing affordability by providing access to Arizona’s most
comprehensive health care provider, with hospitals, health centers,
physician clinics and other services in neighborhoods across Maricopa
and Pinal counties.
“Through the Aetna Whole Health-Banner Health Network ACO partnership,
we have achieved a shared total savings of more than $9.9 million to
date for members and customers in Arizona,” said Tom Grote, president of
Aetna’s Arizona market. “By taking this next step with Banner, we will
be able to reinvent the consumer health care experience while delivering
more affordability to our customers and plan sponsors in Maricopa and
Pinal counties.”
This shared commitment with Banner will reward the value of care over
volume of care, which results in better outcomes and lower costs for
customers. Results from the Aetna and Banner Health Network ACO
partnership have shown significant clinical improvements, including:
A 24 percent decrease in avoidable surgery admissions;
A 4 percent increase in generic prescribing;
An 11.5 percent overall reduction in medical costs; and
More than $2.6 million in fully insured savings in 2015.
“The vision of Banner | Aetna is to help light a path to high-quality
medical care and health management at an affordable price,” said Chuck
Lehn, executive vice president of strategic growth for Banner. “We look
forward to expanding this vision so that Arizonans statewide have access
to care and coverage under this plan. This is going to be a great option
for employers and their individual members, too.”
The partnership with Banner is Aetna’s third joint venture with a
nationally recognized health system, as it moves 75 percent of its
contracts to value-based care models by 2020.
Currently, Banner provides nearly four million care interactions in
Maricopa County annually. Aetna provides health care benefits to
approximately 380,000 commercial members in the Greater Phoenix area.
About Banner
Headquartered in Phoenix, Banner Health
is one of the largest nonprofit health care systems in the country. The
system operates 29 acute-care hospitals, Banner Health Network, Banner –
University Medicine, Banner Medical Group, long-term care centers,
outpatient surgery centers and an array of other services, including
family clinics, home care and hospice services, pharmacies and a nursing
registry. Banner Health is in seven states: Alaska, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Nebraska, Nevada and Wyoming. Learn more at www.BannerHealth.com
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified
health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.7 million people
with information and resources to help them make better informed
decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of
traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products
and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral
health, group life and disability plans, and medical management
capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers'
compensation administrative services and health information technology
products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups,
individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health
plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored
plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see https://www.aetna.com/
and learn about how Aetna
is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews
Contacts
Aetna Media Contact:
Anjie Coplin, 214-200-8056
or
Banner
Media Contact:
Jennifer Ruble, 602-747-3583