Allina Health, Aetna Insurance Company partner to create new health plan company

Allina Health and Aetna are partnering to create a jointly-owned health plan company called Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Company.

The new value-based company will serve employers and consumers in the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

Allina Health and Aetna Insurance Company will offer a number of fully insured and self-insured commercial products starting in early 2018, with Medicare and other products to follow, Aetna said.

[Also: Payers outpace providers in making value work to save money, experts say]

The new health plan combines insurer and provider data to align the incentives and capabilities of a national insurer and local health system to improve health outcomes and cost management, Aetna said.

Patients will have more streamlined connections to their healthcare providers and insurer, and the provider will be able to use advanced clinical data analytics and community-based care teams to help members better manage chronic conditions.
Allina Health serves Minnesota and western Wisconsin.

The new company is a partnership, not a merger, said Penny Wheeler, MD, president and CEO of Allina Health. 

"Allina Health has been on a journey of transforming our patient care strategies to focus on outcomes rather than volume of services," Wheeler said.  "Provider-payer relationships already exist in Minnesota, and with Aetna, we have found a strong national partner who shares our vision of health, wellness and person-centered care."

[Also: Aetna, Banner Health launch joint venture health plan in Arizona]

The collaboration fits Aetna's goal to have at least 75 percent of its claim payments in value-based models by 2020.

"Allina Health is a key partner in Aetna's effort to rethink, reimagine and redefine the health care system to reward value more than volume," said Brigitte Nettesheim, Aetna's president of transformative markets.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse