Cigna subsidiary CareAllies to Help Providers Adopt Value-Based Care Model
June 2016
CareAllies, a new subsidiary of Cigna, was established in June 2016 to help health service providers transition away from fee-for-service business models to those that encourage greater risk-sharing by establishing their own care organizations or even their own health plans. These goals – value-based reimbursement schemes – are similar to those of UnitedHealth Care’s subsidiary Optum.
CareAllies will work with private and public providers to provide the technology and guidance they need in order to improve quality of care and increase affordability for patients, employers, and government payers. The company will be overseen by Dr. Julian Harris, who previously served as Associate Director for Health in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) where he oversaw spending and policy for Medicare and Medicaid. CareAllies combines assets and teams from Cigna, Cigna-HealthSpring and QualCare Alliance Networks.
Harris acknowledges that provider-sponsored health plans are growing and foresees opportunities for partnerships with some successes already recorded, including joint venture health plans with St. Joseph Hoag Health in California and Seton Health Plan in Texas.
CareAllies plans to offer technology systems for providers who are in the process of building value-based care models. For those providers who already have technology partners, they will offer advisor and management services for physicians entering into risk-based arrangements. Adoption of the value-based care model will also help Cigna underwrite provider contracts as it will allow them to better understand what a provider is capable of and the goals they are able to meet.
No Comment