Cooper recently instituted an employee-centered medical home model for its 9,100 covered employees. The program gives employees with chronic conditions efficient, coordinated and close management of their care to keep them healthier and reduce their costs. As part of the new venture, Cooper also plans to implement the patient-centered medical home model in its primary-care practices in southern New Jersey.
Cooper, which is anchored by a 493-bed hospital in Camden, employs more than 500 physicians and has about 100 outpatient offices in southern New Jersey.
“Under this new partnership with AmeriHealth New Jersey, Cooper's network of advanced medical specialists and primary care physicians will provide coordinated patient care never seen before in our region,” George Norcross, chairman of Cooper's board, said in a news release.
AmeriHealth New Jersey is one of five plans in the state participating in the CMS Innovation Center's Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative, a demonstration project in which private insurers, Medicare and Medicaid programs are paying providers per-month, per-patient fees to compensate them for coordinating care.
“We are proud that AmeriHealth New Jersey and Cooper are transforming healthcare by cultivating this innovative partnership with physicians and hospitals in order to manage medical costs, develop low-cost, high-quality products, and enhance the patient experience. This collaboration helps to break down the traditional barriers associated with healthcare by having two organizations work together as one to build an accountable care model—and that is what makes it so exciting,” Daniel Hilferty, president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross, AmeriHealth's parent company, said in the release.
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