Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Trinitas Regional Medical Center announced they had formed a partnership and plan on launching a value-based care program to treat patients with heart failure.
The companies will work together to implement Horizon’s episodes of care for heart failure protocols in Trinitas’ cardiac care program, according to a news release. They expect to expand the initiative next year and focus on episodes of care for coronary artery disease and diabetes.
Trinitas, which is based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, will also work with Blue Shield on programs for Medicaid patients and on programs that utilize primary care and behavioral health clinicians to help patients with mental or substance abuse conditions and medical issues.
“Trinitas and Horizon have a long history of working together to better the health and lives of the people of Elizabeth and Central Jersey,” Gary S. Horan, FACHE, CEO and president of Trinitas Regional Medical Center, said in a news release. “Value-based care is clearly the direction in which medicine is heading and we’re excited to join Horizon at the forefront of bringing the benefits of this approach to our patients.”
Horizon’s value-based care programs include episodes of care, patient-centered medical homes and accountable care organizations. The company said that participants in the programs have a 6 percent higher rate of improved diabetes control, 7 percent higher rate of cholesterol management, 8 percent lower rate of hospital admissions, 5 percent lower rate of emergency room visits and a 9 percent overall reduction in the total cost of care.
“Through this strategic collaboration, we’ll help Trinitas Medical Center accelerate their transition to value-based care by providing incentives for them to coordinate and deliver the full array of treatments and services needed to keep people healthy and get them on the road to recovery more quickly when they become sick,” Robert A. Marino, CEO and chairman of Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, said in a news release. “Trinitas plays a central role in providing responsive, quality healthcare to Elizabeth and the communities of Central New Jersey and I appreciate their willingness to work with Horizon to achieve our shared goals.”
Executive Editor
Tim Casey joined TriMed Media Group in 2015 as Executive Editor. For the previous four years, he worked as an editor and writer for HMP Communications, primarily focused on covering managed care issues and reporting from medical and health care conferences. He was also a staff reporter at the Sacramento Bee for more than four years covering professional, college and high school sports. He earned his undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA degree from Georgetown University.