Aetna, Baptist Memorial Health Care Announce Collaborative Care Agreement

Aetna, Baptist Memorial Health Care Announce Collaborative Care Agreement

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Aetna (NYSE: ) and Baptist Memorial Health Care today announced a collaborative care agreement to bring a new health care model to Aetna members and introduce Aetna Whole Health, a commercial health care product.

This collaboration will give employers and their workers access to highly coordinated care from physicians and facilities in the Baptist Select Health Alliance. The Baptist Select Health Alliance is a clinically integrated group of physicians focused on tracking outcomes, sharing data and measuring clinical standards to improve quality and efficiency.

The Aetna Whole Health plans will be offered to small and mid-sized employers for effective dates beginning July 1. Aetna Whole Health plans feature a new model of health care delivery designed to offer:

“Aetna is excited to announce this collaboration with Baptist,” said Margie Maxwell, Aetna’s president for Tennessee, Arkansas, North Carolina and South Carolina. “Through collaborations like this, Aetna is changing the health care system to focus on quality of care and affordability. Working closely with Baptist, we’re giving people options that help them lead healthier lives.”

In collaborative care models, a group of health care providers delivers more coordinated care for patients to drive better quality and lower overall costs. Through Baptist Memorial Health Care, Aetna members will receive an enhanced level of coordinated care in addition to the member benefits of their current Aetna plan.

Baptist Memorial Health Care, in partnership with physicians, created Select Health Alliance, the first multi-specialty integrated network in the Mid-South.

“We will be putting current data in the hands of physicians, allowing them to improve care and create a better overall value for their patients,” said David Elliott, vice president of managed care for Baptist Memorial Health Care.

Select Health Alliance physicians, along with Baptist hospital facilities, will use information technology to assist in coordinating care and in actively engaging Aetna members in maintaining their overall health. Members will receive:

The agreement between Aetna and Baptist features a new payment model to reward Baptist Select Health Alliance physicians for meeting quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction measures, including:

Aetna is working with health care organizations across the country to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care. Aetna’s solutions help all types of patients, regardless of payer. Information about Accountable Care Solutions from Aetna is available at .

One of the largest not-for-profit health care systems in the United States, Baptist Memorial Health Care offers a full continuum of care to communities throughout the Mid-South. The Baptist system, which consistently ranks among the top integrated health care networks in the nation, comprises 14 affiliate hospitals in West Tennessee, North Mississippi and East Arkansas; more than 4,000 affiliated physicians; Baptist Medical Group, a multispecialty physician group with more than 450 physicians; home, hospice and psychiatric care; minor medical centers and clinics; a network of surgery, rehabilitation and other outpatient centers; and an education system highlighted by the Baptist College of Health Sciences. Baptist has more than 2,300 licensed beds system-wide, employs more than 13,000 people and has approximately 85,000 admissions annually. In 2011, Baptist provided $169 million in community benefit throughout the Mid-South. For more information about Baptist, please visit or call 800-4-BAPTIST.

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 37.3 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services and health information technology services. Aetna’s customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see .