Carilion Clinic
March 10, 2011
Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Carilion Clinic, the largest health care provider in southwest Virginia, today announced their intention to collaborate in an accountable care organization (ACO) initiative. The new model of health care delivery will help lower costs through more effective patient outreach and engagement and a new payment model that rewards providers for the collective outcomes of patients.
“Working together with a shared vision, we believe we can develop a continuum of care that will be a game-changer in the industry and a great benefit to our patients,” said R. Wayne Gandee, M.D., Carilion Clinic’s chief medical officer.
The Aetna-Carilion relationship is ultimately expected to encompass the following key areas:
* co-branded commercial health care plans for businesses and individuals available later this year;
* joint opportunities to better meet the personalized care needs of patients, including Medicaid beneficiaries in Virginia; and
* new payment models that encourage providers to share accountability to improve patients’ health, including rewards for meeting quality targets and shared costs savings.
“Aetna is exploring new ways to work with health care providers, and we’ve found that these discussions are positively received as we collectively seek to improve the health care system,” said Thomas Grote, president of Aetna’s Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., markets. “Our arrangement with Carilion will provide a foundation to grow these new models of care.”
http://newsblog.carilionclinic.org/
Comment:
By Don McCanne, MD
The patient service mission of not-for-profit Carilion Clinic would seem to have little in common with the for-profit insurance business of investor-owned Aetna. With the pressure on to beat the market by forming accountable care organizations called for in the Affordable Care Act, partnerships such as this that blur the distinction between health care delivery systems and private insurers were fully predictable.
Thank goodness we avoided “government-run” health care by rejecting up front the single payer model of reform. Now we can kick back and relax while we enjoy our “Aetna-run” health care. Or maybe “WellPoint-run.” Or “UnitedHealthcare-run.” Or “Cigna-run.” But we do lose that promise of “choice” since no region will be able to support a broad selection of these organizations accountable to the mega-insurance corporations.
What was it that health care reform was all about? I seem to have forgotten.