Aetna Signs Accountable Care Arrangement with Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization

BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Aetna AET today announced that it has signed an accountable care organization (ACO) agreement with Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization (DVACO), offering commercial customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania a health care model designed to improve quality, efficiency and the patient experience.

The DVACO's member hospitals and physicians provide care under a value-based, patient-centric model of health care delivery that is focused on keeping people healthy. The agreement with Aetna is anticipated to include approximately 70,000 current Aetna commercially insured members who are under the care of DVACO-affiliated primary care physicians.

"This is an exciting development for Aetna and its members in Southeastern Pennsylvania," said Laurie Brubaker, president of Aetna's operations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware. "We've been building value-based relationships with physicians in Pennsylvania for the past couple of years, and we're delighted to work with DVACO to improve care and the patient experience for our members."

"This collaboration with Aetna comes on the heels of our very successful first year in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and allows us to expand our ability to positively transform health care delivery in the greater Philadelphia area," said Katherine Schneider, M.D., M.Phil., FAAFP, president and CEO at Delaware Valley ACO. "At DVACO, our primary focus is to deliver a valuable experience to our communities through high-quality care and effective coordination between health care providers and this innovative collaboration with Aetna will extend our population health capabilities to benefit non-Medicare commercially insured residents in our region."

"I, and many of my physician colleagues, are excited for this partnership with Aetna that will ultimately extend our ability to transition even more patient visits to value-based care," explained Dr. William Greer, primary care physician and DVACO Board member. "This new relationship is another step forward in transforming our health care model to one that focuses on maintaining ongoing relationships with our patients to keep them well and proactively promote their health, in addition to caring for them when they are sick."

The agreement is part of Aetna's strategy to transition from fee-for-service reimbursement to value-based payment. Value-based arrangements are emerging as a solution to address rising health care costs, reduce duplication of services, improve health outcomes, and make it easier for people to get the care they need. In value-based models, doctors and hospitals are paid for helping keep people healthy and for improving the health of those who have chronic conditions in an evidence-based, cost-effective way.

The ACO model is designed to offer:

• More coordinated, team-based care among doctors and other care providers;
• Enhanced patient experience through best-in-class care management programs and technology that delivers information to all providers;
• Better health care outcomes.

The agreement features a new payment model that rewards physicians for meeting certain measures designed to improve quality, lower costs and improve patient satisfaction. Examples include reducing potentially avoidable hospital admissions and emergency-room visits, and increasing appropriate cancer screenings and comprehensive diabetes care. Aetna provides health benefits to nearly 1.4 million members in Pennsylvania.

About Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization:

The Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization (DVACO)--the largest and most successful ACO in the greater Philadelphia region, operating under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP)-- is a limited liability company owned by Main Line Health, Jefferson Health, Holy Redeemer Health System, Doylestown Health, and Magee Rehabilitation Hospital. DVACO's purpose is to enhance the quality of health care and reduce the growth rate of health care costs by acting as a convener, accelerator, and provider of the foundation needed to assist its participating members to transition from fee for service model, a business model focused on volume, to a model focused on value-based care and population health. DVACO operates under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). For more information please visit www.dvaco.org.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 46.5 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews

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