The Cleveland Clinic and Aetna will launch a co-branded insurance plan, the two companies announced on Wednesday. It’s part of a broader partnership between the two entities that includes forming an accountable care organization (ACO) and making more of the Cleveland Clinics’ services available to current Aetna members.
ACOs incentivize providers to limit unnecessary spending while meeting quality metrics for care. By taking on the additional risk, they may be able to keep part of the savings from more efficient care.
Aetna and the Cleveland Clinic claim their combined plan will be able to save employers 10% compared to Aetna’s current broad network plans.
“Given the current economic climate, employers are looking for a cost-effective, high quality insurance plan that also provides access for their employees to coordinated care and advanced medical expertise,” Cleveland Clinic CFO Steven Glass said in a news release. “Cleveland Clinic is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of Aetna members, and we look forward to working together to deliver value-based health care to an expanded patient population.”
The new plans, called the Aetna Whole Health – Cleveland Clinic plan, will be available this fall to companies in Northeast Ohio. Aetna members will be able to receive care at any of the Cleveland Clinic’s facilities or its network of affiliated physicians. In turn, the Cleveland Clinic will be rewarded for meeting quality and cost targets.
Other large health systems have been testing their own insurance plans, such as Providence and Intermountain Healthcare. And Aetna had formed more than 500 ACOs before it was acquired by CVS Health in 2018.
The partnership extends beyond the new insurance plan. Members of Aetna’s other commercial plans will be able to get a second opinion from a Cleveland Clinic physician for certain conditions, and will launch a Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Center of Excellence program for Aetna plan sponsors.
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