Anthem is joining forces with major Wisconsin health system Aurora Health Care to create a health insurance company that seeks to drive down costs by steering patients to a select group of providers.
The joint venture--Wisconsin Collaborative Insurance Co.--will will offer a commercial health insurance product called Well Priority, and it will be focused on keeping consumers healthy and actively engaged in their care to help them live well, according to an announcement.
The new company was born from a 2012 partnership in which Anthem offered health plans tied to Aurora's network and tied provider incentives and penalties related to Aurora's ability to provide care at an estimated cost while meeting specific quality measures, according to article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Health systems are increasingly taking on risk through payment models such as accountable care organizations. The new venture between Anthem and Aurora seeks to provide care at a lower cost than the competition when health plan members get most of their care from Aurora's network of physicians and hospitals.
"Now, through Well Priority, we are working to further simplify healthcare so our members can focus on their health and live well," Larry Schreiber, recent president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin and CEO of the joint venture, said in the announcement.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Aurora Health Care each own a 50 percent stake in the new company.
To learn more:
- read the Aurora announcement
- here is the article