Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians And Area Medicare Health Plans Partner Through COPC Senior Care Advantage To Launch New Population Health…

Managed Care Weekly Digest

Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians And Area Medicare Health Plans Partner Through COPC Senior Care Advantage To Launch New Population Health Management Model

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- To revolutionize the care it provides its Medicare Advantage patients, Columbus-based Central Ohio Primary Care (COPC), the largest physician-owned independent primary care medical group in Ohio and the largest in the U.S., has entered into an agreement with local and national Medicare Advantage plans through COPC Senior Care Advantage, a new population health management program designed to improve the quality, value, efficiency, patient experience and outcomes of Medicare Advantage patients (see also Central Ohio Primary Care).

COPC Senior Care Advantage will commence transforming care for Medicare Advantage patients beginning in January of 2018, thanks to new population-health based contracts with all Aetna Medicare Plans (HMO/PPO), Anthem Mediblue Dual Advantage, Anthem Mediblue Access, Anthem Mediblue Access Enhanced, Anthem Mediblue Access Core, Anthem Mediblue Access Basic, Humana Gold Plus HMOs and HumanaChoice PPOs, MediGold Classic Preferred (HMO), MediGold Essential Care (HMO), MediGold Flexible Choice (PPO) and MediGold Medical Only (HMO). COPC is also contracted with other Medicare Advantage plans through legacy agreements.

"As a physician-led organization, our goal is to put the patient's needs first and foremost, and this program by COPC Senior Care Advantage will enhance the great care we have historically provided to our Medicare Advantage patients," said William Wulf, M.D., chief executive officer of Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians, which has more than 350 providers and 62 practice locations throughout central Ohio. "This new model will be coordinated care on steroids," said Dr. Wulf, a long-time advocate for value-based care.

"COPC Senior Care Advantage is an innovative population health model designed to provide higher quality, more efficient care for local Medicare Advantage patients," said Ben Shaker, President of COPC Senior Care Advantage. "Through this collaboration with COPC, we are taking the value-based model to a new level of health and wellness by focusing on prevention and highly coordinated clinical care."

By partnering with like-minded Medicare health plans, COPC Senior Care Advantage will be accountable for improving the health care of COPC's Medicare Advantage patients. Under this model, the physicians at COPC will coordinate all of the care for enrolled members, including primary care, specialists, major local health systems and hospitals, laboratories and all of the ancillary services necessary to improve the health status of such members. They will also engage in advanced data analytics to support clinical decisions, ensuring that the appropriate care is delivered at the right time and place.

"We believe that more efficient care is possible if physicians assume both clinical and financial responsibility for patient care. By having robust data and increased resources at their fingertips, COPC physicians will be better able to deploy highly integrated, prevention-oriented care. Better outcomes are possible when innovative clinical programs are supported by actionable and timely data," said Shaker.

The COPC Senior Care Advantage program is designed to allow COPC physicians to spend more time with their patients. "Taking care of senior patients is more complicated than ever before given the prevalence of chronic illness among this population. Through this new arrangement, COPC Senior Care Advantage will be supporting COPC physicians with case managers, social workers, nurses and quality assurance staff," said Dr. Wulf. "The purpose is to allow our doctors to spend more time with patients, providing support, counseling and prevention services to help patients remain independent and improve their health."

Across the country, health care officials are seeking ways to change the health care system from one that rewards the volume of services doctors provide to one that rewards high quality and value. The goal is to offer better quality care and save money by providing the right level of care at the right time with a focus on prevention. If patients are healthier, they are less likely to need expensive hospitalization or emergency care.

For more information about COPC Senior Care Advantage, visit www.COPCseniorcareadvantage.com

Keywords for this news article include: HMO, Health Policy, Health Insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, Central Ohio Primary Care, Health Maintenance Organizations.