Aetna and BayCare to Introduce Collaborative Care in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Aetna AET, BayCare Health System and BayCare Physician Partners, announced today a new collaborative care agreement designed to improve the quality of care for Aetna members and lower overall health care costs. The agreement includes Aetna commercial and Medicare Advantage members.

“Aetna is delighted to participate in this new agreement with BayCare,” said Mark LaBorde, president of Aetna's Florida markets. “This is the first of what we expect will be several joint efforts to improve the overall quality of health care and reduce costs for customers in the Tampa Bay area.”

Aetna members who received care from physicians who are part of BayCare's clinically integrated network in the last 24 months will participate in the new collaborative care model. Aetna is also introducing a Medicare Provider Collaboration model with BayCare Physician Partners to support Aetna Medicare Advantage members in the area.

Aetna provides health benefits to more than 1 million people in Florida through a broad array of commercial and Medicare plans. Its members have access to a contracted network of 209 hospitals and more than 28,000 primary care and specialist physicians.

BayCare Physician Partners is a group of 1,100 physicians – both employed by BayCare and independent community physicians – who have agreed to work together to improve the health of their patients and enhance the overall quality and efficiency of patient care services in the Tampa Bay area.

To create this new model of care, BayCare Physician Partners spent more than a year developing the network and recruiting physicians with backing from BayCare, the area's leading health system with 10 not-for-profit hospitals, home care, laboratories and outpatient facilities. The result is a clinically integrated network of physicians that commit to coordinating with one another and using advanced technology to manage and improve patient care.

Under the collaborative care agreement, Aetna and BayCare agreed to a new payment model that supports physicians in assuming greater accountability for the quality and cost of Aetna members' overall health care experience.

Aetna will reward BayCare physicians for achieving agreed upon quality and efficiency measures, including:

• the percentage of Aetna members who receive recommended preventive care and screenings;
• improved management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure;
• reductions in hospital readmission rates; and
• reductions in avoidable emergency room visits.

“Our collaboration with Aetna will help evolve the health care delivery system in the Tampa Bay area into a new, improved model,” said Bruce Flareau, M.D., president of BayCare Physician Partners and executive vice president, BayCare Health System. “By working together, BayCare and Aetna can align resources and share information around the goals of prevention, early detection and chronic disease management, and ultimately lead to a healthier community.”

Aetna is working with a number of health care organizations across the country to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care for all patient populations. Information about Accountable Care Solutions from Aetna is available at www.aetnaacs.com.

About BayCare Health System

BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 10 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient's lifetime. With more than 200 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need.

BayCare's family of hospitals are: Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony's, St. Joseph's, St. Joseph's Children's, St. Joseph's Hospital-North, St. Joseph's Women's, and South Florida Baptist. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.

About BayCare Physician Partners

BayCare Physician Partners is a clinically integrated network designed for the future of care. The network is a new model of care that brings physicians and BayCare's resources into a more clinically and financially aligned business partnership. BayCare Physician Partners also has the flexibility to better prepare participating physicians for changes to the nation's health care system driven by government reform. www.BayCarePhysicianPartners.com.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 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 and health information technology services. Our 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.