Aetna, Hackensack Alliance ACO agree to new terms; BCBSMI, Blue Care Network members get wellness programs through WebMD;

News From Around the Web

> Aetna announced a new accountable care agreement with HackensackAlliance ACO this week that will deliver better patient experience for more than 10,000 Aetna commercial and Medicare Advantage members. The plan expands the existing agreement between the two entities first established last year. Announcement

> Come this fall, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network members will have access to new, online wellness programs through a partnership with WebMD Health Services. The service will provide members with health assessments, digital health assistance and health information. Announcement

> Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide plans to move 26,500 full-time employees and their families to the private exchange, Towers Watson's OneExchange, beginning April 1, according to Employee Benefits News. The company opted for account-based health plans with health savings accounts in 2009 and views this move as the next natural step. Article

Health Finance News

> A bipartisan effort to fix the troublesome Sustainable Growth Rate formula finally bore fruit Thursday, as House and Senate leaders introduced legislation that would stop automatic Medicare cuts to doctors. Article

> Alternative and value-based payments may be the wave of the future in healthcare, but providers are unprepared to actually accept them, according to a new study. Article

And finally … Massachusetts, these town names are not real words. Video