A California health plan, a Tenet Healthcare Corp. hospital and an independent physician association have entered into a three-year “accountable care initiative” to run from Jan. 1, 2012, through 2014 to provide integrated healthcare for some 8,000 HMO members.

The agreement between the 500-doctor, Modesto, Calif.-based AllCare IPA, Blue Shield of California and the 441-bed Doctors Medical Center of Modesto announced that the initiative will last a minimum of 36 months and will result in “little to no increase” in costs to Blue Shield HMO members in 2012 and then “low single-digit increases” the following two years.

According to a news release, it is the intent of the parties involved to extend the collaboration for a longer period with the goal of building a delivery model that improves the quality and lowers the cost of care through better coordination.

“The collaboration will be structured to deliver medical cost relief to local employers” while offering HMO members “unique medical initiatives,” AllCare CEO Matt Coury said in the release.