HealthCare Partners, a DaVita Medical Group, and Cigna have entered into an alliance to offer employers in and around Los Angeles integrated health care options designed to improve access, quality and affordability while making the health care experience simpler.
Together, HealthCare Partners and Cigna will offer HMO health plans, in which care is coordinated through a primary care physician, to employers with at least 100 employees. Those employers can choose a fully-insured plan, or they can opt for other funding arrangements. Branded as HealthCare Partners Select HMO, the plans will be offered beginning April 1, 2017.
The alliance is a departure from traditional fee-for-service care in which providers receive a fee for each test or procedure performed. Instead, this arrangement rewards providers who help their patients achieve improved health at an affordable cost. The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care for individuals while sustaining affordability and value for both the employee and employer.
“We have a common purpose: to work together in creating innovative health plans that promote better health and affordability, and provide a better overall care experience,” said Jim Rechtin, California market president for HealthCare Partners. “When providers, health plans, and employers work collaboratively, we can achieve greater quality in health care and build healthier communities.”
“Working together, we are creating an entirely new type of health care ecosystem that puts the people we jointly serve at the center of all we do,” said Gene Rapisardi, president and general manager for Cigna’s Southern California and Nevada markets. “We recognize that health care is local, so our goal is to create the premier local plan that exceeds the expectations of Los Angeles employers and their employees, and that provides access to affordable and personalized care.”
Plans sold through the alliance include medical, behavioral health, pharmacy, nurse case management and health coaching services. Employers also have the option to add Cigna dental and vision plans, as well as group life and disability plans.
Care coordination and health improvement programs are key components of the new model. Individuals will enjoy easier navigation of the system when care is needed, new tools for health and wellness and better access to clinicians. The aim is to realize long-term, sustainable savings while helping individuals achieve better health and greater satisfaction with their health care services.
Customers using the new HealthCare Partners Select HMO plans will have access to a network of HealthCare Partners providers, affiliated physicians and specialists, and hospital partners.
Cigna and HealthCare Partners already have a solid track record of working together successfully in the Los Angeles area through Cigna Collaborative Care, a value-based reimbursement arrangement that rewards doctors for improved quality and affordability, launched in April 2013. Cigna started a similar collaboration with HealthCare Partners Nevada in Las Vegas in October 2012.
“This new alliance is an extension of our earlier collaborations with HealthCare Partners,” Rapisardi said.
Rapisardi noted that the alliance with HealthCare Partners is Cigna’s third delivery system arrangement of this type in Southern California. The company also has similar arrangements with St. Joseph Hoag Health in Orange County and with Scripps Health in San Diego.
“With three local arrangements in place, we have Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties covered and can offer a convenient solution to employers with workforces in multiple Southern California markets,” Rapisardi said.
Rapisardi also noted that local employers with out-of-area workforces who purchase a HealthCare Partners Select HMO plan have the option to purchase additional coverage through Cigna; for example, a Los Angeles employer with employees based in Oakland or Chicago would be able to cover those employees very easily.
