SALT LAKE CITY – Physician groups in Utah are reporting measurable improvements in patient care from continued participation in Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah’s Total Cost of Care program. Under the program, Regence shares detailed data and analytics with physicians about Regence members they see. The information exchange enables doctors to elevate the quality of care they provide, while ensuring that care is appropriate and cost-effective.
Tangible improvements
Results for spring 2015 through spring 2016 show broad progress. Patients under the care of Utah physician groups participating in Total Cost of Care agreements experienced hospital readmission rates that were 28 percent lower than rates of members cared for by non-Total Cost of Care doctors. Completion of key cancer screenings for women was also more than 10 percent better for members seeing physicians working under Total Cost of Care agreements.
Additionally, Utah providers participating in Regence’s Total Cost of Care program reported average member satisfaction scores of 87 percent.
Providers as partners
One of the early adopters of the Total Cost of Care program in Utah is Revere Health. The practice embraced this care delivery and payment improvement model in 2013 and is actively engaged in outreach to those with chronic conditions, as well as encouraging all patients to receive preventive care.
Revere Health physicians and administrators say they’ve seen robust improvements in their patients’ cost of care and their access to important preventive screening measures thanks to their participation in the Total Cost of Care program.
“Revere Health has appreciated the efforts of Regence in improving the quality and costs of healthcare,” said CEO Scott Barlow. “Their efforts of transparency and comprehensiveness of care data has been unprecedented for us in terms of collaboration to improve the science of medicine, by helping to determine the best value for patients. It’s provided tremendous insight for the providers to better understand the overall costs of care, and some of the variation in the care provided, so the entire health system can be improved. We appreciate the commitment to complete cost transparency, and the efforts at building tools for the patients and providers to use as care decisions are made.”
“Our goal is to align with providers to support them with data they can use in their daily work in caring for their patients,” said Eric Hales, vice president of network management for Regence. “We review together the opportunities to improve quality and lower costs in our regular collaboration meetings with these providers.”
In addition to improvements in patient satisfaction and health care outcomes, Utah employer groups who have membership in these Total Cost of Care arrangements experienced an average net savings of approximately $11 per member per month.
Physician group interest in and support for Total Cost of Care continues to grow. In addition to the six groups referenced in this most recent full-year assessment, two more signed on as of Jan. 1, 2017. The new groups include MountainStar Medical Group and Ogden Clinic.
Since 2013, Regence and its affiliated health plans have implemented over 50 value-based agreements – including the Total Cost of Care program – with providers across Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
About Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah
Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, based in Salt Lake City, is the state’s first health insurer and now provides more than 490,000 members with comprehensive health insurance solutions. As a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Regence is part of a family of companies dedicated to transforming health care by delivering innovative products and services that change the way consumers in Utah and nationwide experience health care. For more information, please visit regence.com, facebook.com/regenceutah, or twitter.com/regenceutah.