Florida Blue and Cleveland Clinic Florida Create Accountable Care Arrangement

JACKSONVILLE and WESTON, Fla., Feb. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, and Cleveland Clinic Florida are proud to announce the execution of a Letter of Intent, which signifies their commitment to create an accountable care program.

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The overall goals of accountable care arrangements are to improve individual patient care and overall health, as well as decrease medical costs. Florida Blue and Cleveland Clinic Florida will strive to accomplish these goals by increasing collaboration and efficiency.

In addition, the program will aim to increase patient satisfaction by improving partnerships between patients and their doctors, allowing them to make healthcare decisions together. It will also improve the overall health of the population by enhancing the coordination of care among providers in the healthcare delivery system.

"Cleveland Clinic has been a leader in providing high-quality healthcare at a lower cost," said Bernie Fernandez, MD, CEO of Cleveland Clinic Florida. "Our organization is structured around quality and efficiency and we are pleased to partner with Florida Blue on this initiative."

The accountable care program between Cleveland Clinic and Florida Blue will utilize a value-based compensation structure and serve as another example of Florida Blue's payment innovation efforts being deployed in the South Florida market. It will decrease medical costs by rewarding the right combination of goals, including transparency, care coordination, consumer power and lack of redundancy.

"Working with Cleveland Clinic Florida on this unique collaboration will bring direct benefits to our members in South Florida," said Dr. Jonathan Gavras, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Florida Blue. "In the age of health care reform, both organizations realize the importance of moving away from the fee-for-service model to one that focuses on quality outcomes while reducing the cost burden for all stakeholders."

About Cleveland Clinic Florida
Cleveland Clinic Florida, located in Weston and West Palm Beach, is a not-for-profit, multi-specialty, academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic Florida has more than 215 physicians with expertise in 35 specialties. The medical campus is fully integrated and includes diagnostic centers, outpatient surgery and a 24-hour emergency department located in the state-of-the-art hospital. Cleveland Clinic Florida ranked third among the 18 best hospitals in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area in U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals 2012-2013 metro area rankings. Cleveland Clinic Florida is an integral part of Cleveland Clinic Ohio, where providing outstanding patient care is based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Physicians at Cleveland Clinic are experts in the treatment of complex conditions that are difficult to diagnose.

About Florida Blue
Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, is a leader in Florida's health care industry. Our mission is to help people and communities achieve better health. Florida Blue has approximately 4 million health care members and serves 15.5 million people in 16 states through its affiliated companies. Florida Blue is a not-for- profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. For more information, visit www.FloridaBlue.com.

SOURCE Florida Blue