Aetna and Providence Health & Services Announce a New Product-Based Accountable Care Collaboration in Los Angeles County

Business Wire

– New offering improves patient experience; reduces health care costs for employers –

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Providence Health & Services, the second largest health care delivery system in Los Angeles, today announced an accountable care collaboration and the introduction of the Aetna Whole Health℠ - Providence Health & Services product in Los Angeles County. The new product offering enables physicians to deliver highly coordinated care, track outcomes through shared data and measure clinical standards to improve quality, efficiency and the patient experience.

The Aetna Whole Health℠ - Providence Health & Services product will be available to self-insured customers effective immediately, with an effective date of July 1. The product will be available to fully insured customers on Nov. 1, with an effective date on or after Jan. 1, 2017, and to small group customers in early 2017, pending regulatory approval.

This new collaboration will provide Aetna members with highly coordinated care from Providence Health & Services seven acute-care hospitals, nine urgent care centers, 400-plus primary care doctors and more than 4,000 specialists in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

“This is an exciting time for not only Aetna and Providence Health & Services, but also for members and employers in Los Angeles County,” said Richard Lee, Aetna’s president of South California. “Aetna is already working with Providence on an accountable care collaboration in Washington and we look forward to joining forces with them again to improve health care delivery and affordability in Southern California.”

The accountable care collaboration gives employers innovative health care options for their employees, and will feature a new model of health care delivery designed to offer:

Lower overall out-of-pocket costs for employees who see providers who are part of the Aetna Whole Health℠ - Providence Health & Services network;
A more coordinated, personalized experience for patients; and
Better health care results.

“We are very pleased to work in partnership with Aetna to bring this type of product to the market,” said Jim Slaggert, chief executive officer, Providence Southern California medical foundations. “It aligns with our continued efforts to foster innovation in the delivery of value-based care to our communities, with a focus on customer service, wellness and care coordinated across the continuum of services.”

New payment agreements reward improvements in quality and costs of care

The agreement features a new payment model to reward providers for meeting quality and cost targets, with measures such as:

The percentage of Aetna members who get recommended preventive care and screenings;
Better management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure;
Reductions in avoidable hospital readmission rates; and
Reductions in emergency room visits.

Aetna is working with health care organizations nationwide to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care for health care consumers. Nationally today, about 6.2 million Aetna members receive care from doctors committed to the value-based approach, with approximately 40 percent of Aetna claims payments going to doctors and providers who practice value-based care. Aetna has committed to increasing that number to 75 percent by 2020.

About Providence Health & Services

Providence Health & Services, Southern California, is a Catholic not-for-profit, mission-driven healthcare system. Providence Southern California operates six award-winning hospitals and a comprehensive, fully-integrated network of primary care clinics, urgent care centers, home care, TrinityCare and TrinityKids Care hospice as well as Providence High School. Providence is anchored locally by Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Providence Tarzana Medical Center and Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Centers in Torrance and San Pedro. With more than 3,400 physicians, Providence provides coordinated primary and specialty care through an array of physician groups and individual providers including Providence Medical Institute and physician groups in the South Bay, the West Valley and Santa Clarita. Providence affiliate, Facey Medical Group, provides primary and specialized care in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and San Gabriel valleys. For more information, visit California. www.providence.org

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.5 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 www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews