Texas Health, Aetna Form Health Care Plan Company

May 29--FORT WORTH -- The day after it added another hospital to its network of healthcare facilities in North Texas, Arlington-based Texas Health Resources announced that it is creating a new, for-profit healthcare plan company with Aetna, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies.

Texas Health Resources and Aetna announced last week that they will each own a 50 percent stake in the jointly owned company, which will offer a new healthcare plan to employers and consumers in 14 counties in North Texas, where Texas Health has 27 acute-care and short-stay hospitals.

Aetna, which covers about 700,000 commercial members in that area, will transition some of them into the joint venture, officials said. Others will continue to be offered Aetna plans directly that include a broader network as well as options from the joint venture.

Healthcare spending for the average consumer continues to climb. Containing those costs and improving outcomes have become more important than ever.

Barclay Berdan, Texas Health's CEO

Texas Health and Aetna officials say that the new company will be the first of its kind in North Texas. In 2013, Aetna and Inova Health System launched Innovation Health in northern Virginia, a joint venture that provides nearly 189,000 members with integrated care and offers health plans to employers and individuals that resulted in lower overall costs in care, an Aetna official said.

"Healthcare spending for the average consumer continues to climb. Containing those costs and improving outcomes have become more important than ever," said Barclay Berdan, Texas Health's CEO. "Our collaboration reinforces our shared commitment to lead the healthcare industry in building more sustainable value-based models of care, which help to deliver better outcomes and lower overall costs."

Berdan said the new partnership will benefit members by helping them access care in the most appropriate venue, decrease variations in care among members through evidence-based medicine and provide optimal care support during a critical illness. It will also help members with chronic conditions optimize their health, he said.

Working together, Aetna and Texas Health will help patients find the best approaches to health that lead to more comprehensive, coordinated and lower overall cost-of-care.

Michael Nelson, Aetna's market president for Texas

Aetna officials say the joint venture will streamline the healthcare experience for individuals and employers in the Metroplex. It also may lead to lower premiums, they said.

"Working together, Aetna and Texas Health will help patients find the best approaches to health that lead to more comprehensive, coordinated and lower overall cost of care," said Michael Nelson, Aetna's market president for Texas. "This partnership was a natural evolution to address the needs of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in an evolving healthcare environment. Together, we believe this plan will provide a unique solution to consumers in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex."

The new company expects to start offering policies by January 2017, pending regulatory approval from the Texas Department of Insurance.

This is the latest step in broadening the nonprofit Texas Health Resources' healthcare reach in North Texas.

On Wednesday, the company completed its purchase of the former Forest Park Medical Center, a 54-bed state-of-the-art facility in southwest Fort Worth. Berdan said the company needed the hospital because two of its other hospitals nearby, Texas Health Harris Methodist and Texas Health Harris Methodist Southwest, are running near capacity.

Earlier this month, Texas Health Resources added the chain of freestanding First Choice Emergency Rooms to its healthcare network in North Texas. Under the agreement, Texas Health Resources will have a controlling interest in the 27 First Choice facilities, which will be rebranded as Texas Health emergency rooms by the end of the year.

Texas Health Resources' new Aetna joint venture will also feature the Southwestern Health Resources network. Formed last year in a partnership with UT Southwestern, it includes more than 500 physicians in Texas Health's employed physician group. Texas Health Resources has 69 outpatient facilities, including surgery, fitness and imaging centers, and more than 250 other community access points.

"While we do not have specific outcome details at this time [for the Aetna partnership], we do aim to achieve our ultimate goal of promoting better health, improving outcomes through better care coordination and clinical integration, and streamlining secure and appropriate access to patient information," Berdan said.

This report includes information from the Star-Telegram archives.

Max B. Baker: 817-390-7714, @MaxbakerBB

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