The Franciscan Alliance, a 13-hospital Catholic healthcare system based in Lafayette, Ind., has announced the formation of an accountable care organization in partnership with Indianapolis-based Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, part of the for-profit WellPoint network of Blues plans.
The deal creates Anthem's first commercial ACO partnership in Indiana, but it wasn't the first ACO for the Alliance, which formed the Hoosier state's first Medicare Shared Savings ACO in 2012.
“We have since established other Medicare and commercial ACOs throughout the state and continue to develop new collaborative models in line with the (Institute for Healthcare Improvement's) 'triple aim'—achieving better population health, providing higher quality of treatment and reducing the costs of care,” Kevin Leahy, president and CEO of the alliance, said in a news release.
The alliance has 11 hospitals in Indiana and two in Illinois.
The agreement becomes effective April 1 and involves 63,000 Anthem members.
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