Tufts Medical Center, the Tufts-owned New England Quality Care Alliance (NEQCA) physicians network and Vanguard Health Systems announced last week it received an $88.5 million loan from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to fund the Minuteman Health Initiative, a member-owned health plan serving Massachusetts.
The intent is for the health plan to gain approval from the Massachusetts Divisions of Insurance and to be offering health plans no late than January 2014. The target market for Minuteman will be individuals and small businesses looking to save money on insurance premiums and actively participate in a more transparent system of healthcare delivery.
"Our goal is to create a smart, efficient health insurance model that keeps administrative costs low," said Eric Beyer, President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children, in a press release. "… patients consistently tell us they are confused by medical bills, so we would like to provide members with a single, easy to understand bill for all the services they receive from all different providers. We want to relieve providers' administrative burden so they have more time to focus on care. This is a model built for the long-term success of everyone involved."
Tufts Medical Center, NEQCA and Vanguard Health are the sponsors of Minuteman Health. Minuteman's network will include the hospitals and doctors of Tufts MC and Floating Hospital for Children, the approximately 1,600 NEQCA providers and Vanguard-owned MetroWest Medical Center and Saint Vincent Hospital. Over time it will seek to establish a broad network of high-quality, lower-cost providers across the state.
The new health plan will be run like a cooperative, with all members having a voice in the election of the Minuteman board of directors, the majority of whom will also be members of the plan. The non-profit will also use any operating surplus to either lower premiums or to fund initiatives aimed at reducing the costs of care. The intent of the plan is to make all three groups – members, providers and insurers – equal partners in finding ways to improve the quality of care while also reducing costs.
"The nearly 1,600 physicians of the New England Quality Care Alliance are excited to be part of the innovative network being established by Minuteman Health," said Jeff Lasker, MD, CEO of NEQCA, in a prepared statement. "We believe we can lower costs and improve patients' health by aligning the consumer's voice and the physician's expertise. The establishment of this plan through CMS allows us to design insurance products from scratch that best fit patients' needs and today's healthcare environment."
In order to accomplish this, Minuteman will work to improve the transparency of the healthcare systems for its members. It will allow members to access their health records and enable providers to see what services their patients are receiving to help them better manage the member's care. Employers purchasing coverage through Minuteman will also have access to the health information of their employees, which can help them tailor wellness programs that will be most effective. Employers will also be able to see the cost of services at different providers to help them plan for future healthcare costs.