Cigna is expanding its collaborative care model, which pays doctors to lower medical costs and improve patient care, beyond large physician groups, reported the Hartford Courant. The model now involves small physician groups, hospitals and specialists. The insurer aims to "work with healthcare professionals to move away from a reimbursement that rewarded volume to one that rewarded outcomes," Raegan Armata, a Cigna product director who has been leading the company's collaborative care efforts, told the Courant. "And those outcomes are measured on the basis of quality, affordability and patient experience." Cigna decided to expand its existing collaborative care model so it could reach more consumers with expensive conditions and complex medical needs. For example, the insurer said 40 percent of its high-cost members receive care from small practices while 25 percent seek care at hospitals. Article