Building on the success of its patient-centered medical home (PCMH) program with primary care physicians, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City announced it has inked a deal with St. Luke's Health System, the first under its new hospital-focused Collaborative Value Program.
According to the company, the core of the new program for hospitals remains primary care, as it is in its existing PCMH program that now counts 422 physicians and 110,000 covered lives. But the Collaborative Value Program will seek to extend that throughout an integrated delivery system working directly with hospitals and their employee doctors.
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"With the Patient Centered Medical Home initiative, we've seen positive results in both outcomes and cost. We're excited about advancing the ideas and applying them to the integrated delivery system that hospitals provide," said David Gentile, Blue KC president and CEO, in a press release. "With the collaborative effort of a hospital's integrated delivery system, we stand to see even better results in terms of enhanced care, member access and lower costs."
According to Blue KC, the goal of the program is to work collaboratively to improve care coordination and communication among physicians, other providers and suppliers as a means of achieving the triple aim of improving care quality, decreasing cost and improving the patient experience.
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If the programs works according to plan, Blue KC anticipates the program with St. Luke's could produce savings in the future in the range of $3 to $10 per member per month, with the most significant impact being among the patients who suffer from chronic conditions. In addition, it will provide a greater incentive to both physicians and patients for improving healthcare outcomes.
"We are continuously seeking to enhance the quality of services we deliver to the Kansas City community while lowering costs where possible. Collaborative value reimbursement programs are a vehicle to do just that," said Melinda Estes, MD, president and CEO of St. Luke's, in a prepared statement announcing the system's participation in the Blue KC program.