Beacon IPA, a one-year-old Long Island-based physician network consisting of almost 200 healthcare practitioners, has announced a three-year contract with Empire BlueCross BlueShield aimed at finding new ways to enhance the overall quality, efficiency and safety of clinical care and reduce costs.
"We anticipate major changes driven by new healthcare reform at both the state and federal levels," said John Caby, vice president of provider engagement and contracting for Empire BlueCross BlueShield. "We believe there are great opportunities for collaboration between payers and physicians in the interest of better aligning payment with value, reducing fragmentation and placing greater emphasis on wellness and prevention."
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Beacon IPA works under a care model that emphasizes comprehensive care management programs, pay-for-performance and provider reimbursement models tied to quality measures and patient outcomes.
"In today's environment, accountability is absolutely critical for success," said Simon Prince, MD, president and CEO of Beacon IPA. "Beacon IPA physicians are working together to produce regular performance reports, determine specific quality and safety benchmarks and identify potential issues in patient care. We are convinced that our relationship with New York's leading insurance company will not only benefit the payer and all our member physicians, but will also pave the way for better, safer and more affordable care."
Empire officials said the three-year deal with Beacon is based on its efforts to provide quality-based reimbursement models as a method to hold healthcare cost increases in check while providing a better experience and care for members. The company noted that Beacon's performance standards and management were among the factors that helped seal the deal with the new network.