Vera Whole Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City Break New Ground

PR Newswire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. and SEATTLE, Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Vera Whole Health, an innovator in healthcare delivery, has partnered with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) to operate three new Spira Care Centers in Missouri. The partnership is a sign of the changing landscape to create solutions that prioritize primary care in a patient-centered setting.

Spira Care is a combined primary care and insurance offering available exclusively to eligible Blue KC members. It was designed following months of hands-on collaboration with consumers to deliver high-quality, patient-focused personalized care with no copays, deductibles or additional costs for any care provided at the Spira Care Centers. Vera Whole Health will serve as the strategic and clinical partner for the three new Care Centers in Missouri.

"We are excited to partner with Vera Whole Health in Spira Care's newest chapter," said Greg Sweat, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer for Blue KC. "Vera Whole Health complements our mission with our Spira Care model to bring back the personal side of healthcare. Together, we look forward to expanding Spira Care's footprint to our members in Missouri."

The Vera approach to care replaces today's sick-care model with time-rich provider-patient relationships built on a foundation of empathetic listening. The model empowers patients to get to the core of their whole health and not just the treatment of their physical symptoms.

"The partnership with Blue KC and Spira Care Centers is built on our foundational belief that relationships between care providers and patients are the key to lasting healthcare outcomes," said Ryan Schmid, president and CEO of Vera. "It begins with empathetic listening and truly understanding a patient's needs. Then using data to identify, engage, intervene, and coordinating their care when necessary."

This relational approach combined with true managed care, the coordination and advocacy for patients when their needs extend beyond the care center, has proven to improve health outcomes and reduce cost for both employers and patients.

"We are leading a health revolution that is long overdue," said Schmid. "Our partnership with Blue KC through Spira Care is a perfect example of how this approach is catching on."

About Vera Whole Health
Vera Whole Health is the leading direct-to-employer primary care provider in the Western United States, creating a health revolution with a whole health approach to primary care and behavior change. Vera is the first on-site clinic provider in the United States to earn a Certificate of Validation by the Care Innovations™ Validation Institute for sound population health cost outcomes. With a growing presence in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and now Missouri, Vera providers guide patients toward optimum social, psychological and physical health. Learn more at VeraWholeHealth.com, or call (206) 395-7870.

About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City, the largest not-for-profit health insurer in Missouri and the only not-for-profit commercial health insurer in Kansas City, has been part of the Kansas City community since 1938. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City provides health coverage services to more than one million residents in the greater Kansas City area, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas and 30 counties in Northwest Missouri. Our mission: to provide affordable access to healthcare and to improve the health of our members. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. For more information on the company, visit its website at BlueKC.com.