Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia has partnered with Aledade, a network of independent primary care practices, to improve access to value-based primary care for Medicaid members, the companies announced last week.
Bethesda, Maryland-based Aledade helps independent practices, health centers and clinics engage in value-based care through data insights, policy expertise and contracting support. It works with more than 1,500 practices and community health centers across 46 states and the District of Columbia.
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Through the partnership, Anthem’s Medicaid members will have better access to primary and preventive care, including health screenings. Aledade and Anthem began working together last year with the insurer’s Medicare Advantage and commercially insured members. The partnership enables Aledade to bring value-based care — in which clinicians are paid based on the quality of care they deliver versus the volume of care they provide — to more than 80 practices, 15 health centers and 25 rural health clinics in Anthem’s network across Virginia. More than 150,000 Anthem members are affected by this partnership.
“The United States stands apart in its underinvestment in primary care, and many of Virginia’s rural areas are federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) for primary care,” said Ananya Banerjee, Aledade’s chief commercial officer, in an email. “Through value-based care, practices can keep people healthy and generate savings that allow them to expand their services.”
In the value-based agreement, Aledade is focused on helping patients receive preventive care and screenings and manage chronic conditions and medications, Banerjee added.
Anthem is already seeing improvements through its partnership with Aledade, said Monica Schmude, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia.
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“We are already beginning to reap the benefits from this partnership seeing rural health clinics expand access and offer more preventive care,” Schmude said in a statement. “These physicians are able to focus exclusively on better health outcomes for our members, making a critical difference in the health of our communities.”
By working with Anthem, Aledade ultimately aims to “support more independent primary care practices throughout Virginia in their efforts to improve care for all of their patients, regardless of their insurance coverage. This partnership allows us to offer better informed, more accessible, more engaged and more accountable primary care to 150,000 Anthem members in Virginia across all lines of business,” Banerjee said.
The partnership follows several other partnerships Aledade has announced with insurers this year, including one with CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and a 10-year agreement with Humana.
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