by Will Ayers
Aetna announces a new accountable care product, Aetna Whole Health — Tennessee, which leverages the strengths of the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network, a collaborative partnership of physicians, health systems, and employers in Tennessee and surrounding states. The new product will provide employers a value-based health care option designed to increase quality, improve efficiency and the patient experience and control costs.
Employers who choose Aetna Whole Health — Tennessee for their health plan will have the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network’s high-performing alliance of nearly 5,000 doctors, 61 hospitals and more than 60 urgent care centers and walk-in clinics providing clinical care for their employees and their families. Aetna and the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network have collaborated to improve the coordination of care for patients while generating savings for employers of all sizes across the state since 2013.
Aetna Whole Health — Tennessee will be available to self-insured and fully-insured businesses in the greater Nashville, Memphis, Chattanooga, Upper Cumberland (Cookeville) and Jackson metropolitan areas beginning Oct. 1, for an effective date of Jan. 1, 2018.
“We’re excited to advance our long-standing accountable care collaboration with the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network to bring our innovative Aetna Whole Health solution to Tennessee employers from Memphis to Nashville to Chattanooga,” said Jim Bostian, market president for Aetna’s Tennessee operations. “Our combined strengths are squarely focused on the delivery of quality and cost-effective care, an enhanced care experience and unmatched support to help members achieve their personal health goals.”
For the last four years, the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network has consistently improved the coordination and experience of care for patients while reducing the total cost of care to create value for employers, members and providers. In 2016, for example, the network delivered cost savings 2.2 percent below market trend to its health plan customers.
This new accountable care offering from Aetna gives employers innovative health care options for their employees and will feature a new model of health care delivery designed to offer:
- Cost savings to employers and their employees who use providers in the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network;
- A more coordinated, personalized experience for patients; and
- Better health care results.
“As one of the region’s largest employers, we know the importance of attracting, retaining and rewarding employees with great benefits that improve their health and productivity at home and at work,” said C. Wright Pinson, M.D., MBA, chair of the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network’s board and Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Health System officer for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We’re proud to offer our broad, high-performing network to bring a new value-based solution for employers large and small across Tennessee.”
The agreement features a new payment model to reward Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network providers for meeting quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction measures including:
- The percentage of patients who receive recommended preventive care and screenings;
- Better management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure;
- Reductions in avoidable hospital readmissions; and
- Reductions in emergency room visits.
