Florida Blue Collaborates with BayCare on Clinically Integrated Network

Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, is working with BayCare to create a new clinically integrated network developed by BayCare Physician Partners.

The new partnership creates a value-based payment structure with the overall goal of improving individual patient care and overall health while decreasing medical costs. About 4,000 Florida Blue HMO members, participating in BlueCare products, will be included in the first year, with plans to expand the program in the future.

“Florida Blue and BayCare have long enjoyed a rewarding partnership in providing quality care for our members, and we are excited to expand our relationship with this new venture,” said Pat Geraghty, chairman and CEO for Florida Blue. “In the age of reform, both organizations realize the importance of moving away from the fee-for-service model to one that focuses on quality outcomes, efficient use of health care services, and a greater emphasis on prevention, wellness and optimal health.”

BayCare Physician Partners is a group of 1,100 physicians – both employed by BayCare and independent community physicians – who have agreed to work together to improve the health of their patients and enhance the overall quality and efficiency of patient care services in the Tampa Bay area.

To create this new model of care, BayCare Physician Partners spent the past year and a half developing the network and recruiting physicians with backing from BayCare, the area’s leading health system with 10 not-for-profit hospitals, home care, laboratories and outpatient facilities. The third piece of the formula was adding partnerships with insurance companies to create a new, value-based payment structure for physicians who achieve agreed-upon performance measures and exceptional patient care.

“Purchasers of health care are demanding higher quality and a better patient experience along with improved affordability,” said Bruce Flareau, M.D., president of BayCare Physician Partners and executive vice president, BayCare Health System. “Our collaboration with Florida Blue places heavy emphasis on meeting all of these components, and we look forward to providing high value care to Florida Blue’s HMO members.”

About BayCare Physician Partners

BayCare Physician Partners is a clinically integrated network designed for the future of care. The network is a new model of care that brings physicians and BayCare’s resources into a more clinically and financially aligned business partnership. BayCare Physician Partners also has the flexibility to better prepare participating physicians for changes to the nation’s health care system driven by government reform. www.BayCarePhysicianPartners.com

About Florida Blue

Florida Blue, Florida’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, is a leader in Florida’s health care industry. Our mission is to help people and communities achieve better health. Florida Blue has approximately 4 million health care members and serves 15.5 million people in 16 states through its affiliated companies. Florida Blue is a not-for- profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. www.FloridaBlue.com.