Aetna Expands Accountable Care Model, Introduces Aetna Whole Health Collaboration with Duke Health and WakeMed Health & Hospitals

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) announced an expanded accountable care collaboration with Duke Health and WakeMed Health & Hospitals. It offers employers and individuals in 12 central North Carolina counties a health care option designed to improve quality, efficiency and the patient experience, and to control costs.

The co-branded product, called Aetna Whole Health-Duke Health & WakeMed, brings together Duke Health and WakeMed physicians, hospitals and outpatient facilities, as well as WakeMed Key Community Care (WKCC).

WKCC is an accountable care organization (ACO) created by WakeMed Health & Hospitals, WakeMed Physician Practices and Key Physicians. Together, they will form a robust network that offers patients access to every level of health care service, from prevention and primary care to the most sophisticated medical and surgical specialties.

"This new agreement deepens our long-standing collaborative relationships with Duke Health and WakeMed, and is great news for our current and future customers in North Carolina," said Jim Bostian, president of Aetna's operations in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. "We're thrilled to align our mutual resources to deliver better value through quality, cost-effective care and improved population health management."

Since 2013, Aetna has offered a product, including the same providers, to employers and individuals under the Carelink banner. The expanded geographical reach now includes the following counties: Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Lee, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake and Wilson. Aetna provides health benefits to more than 550,000 people in North Carolina.

For several years, fully insured employers have had access to a high-performance network product through Aetna. The ACO will now be offered to self-funded employers, allowing larger companies to experience the benefits generated from better coordinated care and population health management.

"We're pleased to participate in this ACO," said Thomas Owens, M.D., vice president for medical affairs and chief medical officer for Duke University Health System. "We believe it represents a very effective approach to providing patients with a high-quality breadth of services and options, while also managing costs and efficiency through enhanced coordination of care and care management."

"Through enhanced access to care, improved care coordination and an integrated delivery system focused on the quality of care delivery, WKCC offers a strong value proposition for our valued patients," said Brian Klausner, M.D., WakeMed primary care physician and WKCC medical director. "Working collaboratively with Aetna in this new health plan is an emphatic step toward reshaping and improving the care delivery system for all stakeholders: patients, providers and purchasers."

Aetna Whole HealthSM -Duke Health & WakeMed plans are designed to give employers better health care options for their employees with a patient-centric model of health care focused on keeping people healthy rather than just treating them when they become sick.

Keywords for this news article include: Aetna, Hospital, Insurance.

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