by Leslie Small
As primary care can have
a large impact on the quality and cost of care delivered, some health insurers
are investing in improving how it's delivered by integrating key services such
as behavioral health treatment and health coaching.
For Blue Cross and Blue
Shield of Kansas City and Nevada-based Prominence Health Plan, that's meant
partnering with a company called Vera Whole Health to launch primary care
centers for their members.
"We looked in the
mirror and knew that we needed to change to bring our constituents the
experience and the value that we wanted to bring to the market," says Dave
Olson, vice president of business development at Blue KC. "Then it was
looking at where can we have the biggest impact outside of our current swim
lane, and entering primary care and having a bundled insurance product offering
with care delivery made a lot of sense."
Blue Cross Blue Shield of
North Carolina, meanwhile, unveiled an initiative with health care technology
firm Quartet that aims to better identify patients with underlying behavioral
health conditions and help primary care practices connect them to treatment.
"We recognize that
of the one in five North Carolinians who have a behavioral health disorder, the
estimates are that less than 50% receive care," says Katherine Hobbs
Knutson, M.D., chief of behavioral health at the Blues plan. Quartet will also
assess the North Carolina Blues plan's network to identify and help fill
potential behavioral health provider gaps, she says.
From Health Plan Weekly
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