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Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois adds three accountable care organizations

Combined, the three providers will serve more than 100,000 patients.

Chris Nerney, Contributor

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois has developed accountable care organizations with three more provider-partners, bringing the total number of ACOs under the insurer to five, the insurer announced this month.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois has developed accountable care organizations with three more provider-partners, bringing the total number of ACOs under the insurer to five, the insurer announced this month.

The organizations are Independent Physicians' ACO of Chicago, Northwest Community Healthcare and the Illinois Health Partners -- comprised Edward Hospital and Medical Group, Elmhurst Hospital and Medical Group and DuPage Medical Group.

Combined, the three providers will serve more than 100,000 patients.

"BCBSIL works with each provider to better coordinate care and share valuable data that helps direct providers' efforts toward where the data trends point," the insurer said in a statement. "BCBSIL also works with each provider group to agree on a set of quality measurements and improvement goals, including reducing inpatient stays and emergency room visits, avoiding unnecessary readmissions, along with improving key care quality measurements."

The Illinois insurer launched its first ACO in 2010 with Advocate Health Care, the state's largest hospital healthcare system. With more than 250,000 patients, it is the largest commercial ACO in the United States, according to BCBSIL.

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Last year the insurer struck an ACO arrangement with OSF Healthcare, Central Illinois' largest hospital health care system.

BCBSIL reports that during the first three years of the ACO agreement with Advocate, medical costs were reduced by 6 percent while readmissions and clinical outcomes for patients improved.

Earlier this month BCBSIL announced plans to launch a value-based care model with DuPage Medical Group, the largest independent physician practice in the Chicago area, with more than 425 doctors.

This story was abridged from an earlier post on Revenue Cycle Insights.

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