Blue Shield of California, Greater Newport Physicians Medical Group and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian to Collaborate on Coordinated Care Model to Improve Quality and Reduce Healthcare Costs

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Feb 27, 2012, 11:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO and NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California, Greater Newport Physicians, IPA and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian today announced a three-year accountable care initiative designed to provide integrated, cost-efficient health care to approximately 11,000 Blue Shield HMO members in Orange County. The partners expect this collaboration to result in little to no increase in healthcare costs for these members in the first year of the collaboration, and low single digit increases in the two subsequent years.

To achieve this goal, the organizations will identify and implement long-term strategies aimed at improving quality and efficiency to ensure that health care stays affordable for Blue Shield members. The healthcare entities will work together to share clinical and case management information and to coordinate comprehensive healthcare services. The organizations' incentives will be aligned to improve healthcare quality and patient service while reducing costs.

This initiative launches July 1, 2012 and will continue for a minimum of 36 months. It is the parties' collective intent to extend the collaboration even longer in order to have a material, sustainable impact on healthcare costs for members and employers over time. The goal is to build a care delivery model that improves quality through better coordination of care while taking costs out of the healthcare delivery system. Preliminary work is already underway across the three organizations, and will accelerate in the coming months.

"Greater Newport Physicians has always been a leader in adapting to the dynamic healthcare environment to better serve the needs of our patient population," said Cassidy Tsay, M.D., M.B.A., Medical Director of Greater Newport Physicians. "We coordinate the care of our patients as they navigate throughout the entire health care system, because we know that patient care includes prevention, chronic care management, acute episodes of care and post-hospitalization recovery. We look forward to sharing this philosophy with our partners."

"We are pleased to collaborate with Greater Newport Physicians and Blue Shield of California to provide affordable health care for the community and employers in Orange County and, in turn, ensure they have access to the personalized care they expect from Hoag," said Richard Afable, M.D., Hoag President and CEO. "This collaboration allows us to continue to provide the highest quality care to the communities we serve, as one of Orange County's most trusted healthcare networks."

The collaboration with Greater Newport Physicians and Hoag, which is subject to the approval of the California Department of Managed Health Care, is Blue Shield's sixth commercial accountable care organization. Blue Shield currently works with hospitals, physician groups and employers on ACOs to deliver integrated care to 100,000 Californians in Sacramento, San Francisco, the Central Valley and Orange County.

"This collaboration with Greater Newport Physicians and Hoag is aimed at delivering high-quality coordinated care to Blue Shield members in Orange County. It's another milestone in our ongoing effort to transform how we provide and pay for care to make health coverage more affordable to all Californians," said Juan Davila, senior vice president of network management for Blue Shield of California.

About Blue Shield of California

Blue Shield of California, an independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health plan with 3.3 million members, 4,800 employees, and one of the largest provider networks in California. Founded in 1939 and headquartered in San Francisco, Blue Shield of California offers a wide range of commercial and government products throughout the state. The company has contributed more than $125 million over the past four years to the Blue Shield of California Foundation—which was named one of BusinessWeek's 20 most generous corporate foundations. For additional information, visit www.blueshieldca.com.

About Greater Newport Physicians

Greater Newport Physicians (GNP) is an independent practice association (IPA) established in 1985 by 50 doctors on staff at Hoag Hospital. Today, GNP has more than 500 affiliated physicians who provide care to more than 100,000 Orange County residents. GNP members mainly receive hospital services at Hoag Hospital. For more information on GNP, visit www.gnpweb.com.

About Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian

Hoag is a not-for-profit regional healthcare delivery network in Orange County, California that treats nearly 30,000 inpatients and 350,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals, seven health centers and five urgent care centers. Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which has served Orange County since 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010, are designated Magnet hospitals by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that include five institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women's health and orthopedics through Hoag's affiliate Hoag Orthopedic Institute. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report Metro Edition. National Research Corporation has endorsed Hoag as Orange County's most preferred hospital for the past 15 consecutive years and for an unprecedented 15 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as the county's best hospital in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org.

CONTACTS:

Johnny Wong
Blue Shield of California
(415) 229-6321
[email protected]

Amanda Weig
Greater Newport Physicians
(949) 574-4490
[email protected]

Andrea Burgess
Hoag
(949) 764-6939
[email protected]

SOURCE Blue Shield of California