ChristianaCare and Highmark Health announced a collaboration that focuses on health care outcomes and lowering costs, emphasizing technology.
ChristianaCare is Delaware’s largest hospital/healthcare system and the state’s largest non-government employer. Highmark is Delaware’s largest group health insurer and one of the largest Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates.
The new model will be a departure from the fee-for-service model that dominates much of American health care and is blamed for high costs and outcomes that do not match up with lower-cost models in other nations.
ChristianaCare and Highmark Delaware in 2019 announced a collaboration in a move toward compensation being made based on health outcomes.
Both organizations noted that the joint venture does not represent a merger or exclusivity agreement between the two organizations. That point was emphasized since Highmark operates a large hospital system in western Pennsylvania.
“As two nationally recognized innovators, it makes perfect sense to leverage our combined expertise and resources to improve health outcomes, decrease costs, streamline processes between receiving and paying for care, and ultimately reimagine the whole health experience,” said Karen Hanlon, chief operating officer, Highmark Health.
“Today, we take a bold step forward to revolutionize healthcare. We are rethinking the way care is delivered and the way it’s paid for creating a new health care ecosystem that will enable better health and more affordable, accessible, high-quality care that is continuous and data-driven,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., MPH, president and CEO of ChristianaCare.
Nevin continued, “This is a problem-solving company that will take cost and inefficiencies out of the system, aligning everything around what’s right for the patient. It will enable much stronger, continuous connections between people and their health care providers, building lasting relationships, achieving health equity and creating health so that people can flourish.”
The venture plans to embrace technology as a way to get beyond the current model that starts with a doctor’s visit and sometimes ends up in wrangling over fees.
Examples cited include video visits or secure texting, data-powered care management, and in-person consultations when appropriate.
“While the partnership aims to disrupt the status quo in health care in the United States, it’s grounded in a history of collaboration between the two organizations in Delaware, a release stated.
“Our two organizations have worked alongside one another for many years consistent with the traditional provider-insurer relationship, and we both saw the opportunity for innovation and progress by entering into a strategic partnership,” said Deborah L. Rice-Johnson, president of Highmark Inc. and chief growth officer of Highmark Health. “We believe we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of health care so that it’s more sustainable and delivers better health for the people and communities we serve.”
The new entity will create a Solution Design Center, which will create data- and technology-driven solutions to improve health outcomes, efficiency, and experience for patients, members, and care providers.
“The Solution Design Center is unlike anything out there, because it goes beyond what a leading health care system’s innovation center is typically able to do, combining expertise and data from both the provider side and the payor side,” said Ken L. Silverstein, M.D., MBA, ChristianaCare’s chief physician executive. “This combination unlocks a holistic view that really enables us to see the opportunities and impact we can have on both outcomes and cost.”
The second key component of the joint venture will be the Center for Virtual Health, which develops, tests, and deploys virtual capabilities for primary and specialty care that improve patient access, experience, and outcomes while reducing care costs.
ChristianaCare launched the CareVio technology platform in 2013, with the system getting greater use during the Covid-19.
ChristianaCare and Highmark Health have committed to a 10-year joint venture, with oversight by a board equally comprised of leaders from both organizations.
The joint venture has a nationwide impact as health care providers and payors monitor its solutions.
The partnership’s most immediate impact will be in Delaware.
The two organizations partnered in 2019 in a value-based payment agreement to improve the health of Medicaid patients in the state, enabling ChristianaCare to address both medical and non-medical health needs of Highmark Health Options members—something that was very difficult to achieve in a traditional fee-for-service model of care, the release noted.
“ChristianaCare has long been a trusted and valued health system in Delaware,” said Nick Moriello, president, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Delaware. “No one knows better than our respective organizations the various challenges our members and patients face while trying to navigate the health care system. We look forward to breaking down even more barriers with this new collaboration and providing solutions that lead to a healthier Delaware and beyond.”
Highmark is the fourth largest overall Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization, Highmark Inc. Its Blue-branded affiliates proudly cover the insurance needs of more than 5.6 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia.
Its businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.
