Fresenius and Cigna expand partnership on dialysis
The value-based arrangement is part of Cigna's Collaborative Care.
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Fresenius Medical Care North America and Cigna have expanded their partnership for at least two years to provide members with end-stage renal disease access to more than 2,600 dialysis centers and home dialysis options.
The value-based care arrangement has incentives to align reimbursement with improved performance and reduce the cost of care reductions to care for people living with kidney failure or end-stage renal disease.
It is part of Cigna's value-based care model, Collaborative Care.
The partnership with Fresenius began in 2017 and is now extended to at least 2023.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Value-based care, particularly for chronic disease management, is seen as the best way to lower healthcare costs while improving the quality of care.
Fresenius Health Partners was organized by Fresenius Medical Care North America to lead its initiatives in designing and delivering value-based care programs for renal disease. It currently has almost 50,000 renal patients enrolled in its value-based care programs with governmental and private insurance payers.
FHP offers value-based care programs for renal patients to commercial health plans through its payer programs and to CMS through the ESRD Seamless Care Organization program administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation.
THE LARGER TREND
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other payers have been moving toward more adoption of value-based care models.
Payers have also launched these contracts with drug manufacturers. An outcomes-based agreement between Highmark and Boehringer Ingelheim resulted in a total cost of care reduction of more than 20% for adult patients with Type 2 diabetes and known cardiovascular disease. The agreement was designed to evaluate the costs of care over a one-year period for patients who took the medication Jardiance compared with those who were prescribed other branded or generic anti-hyperglycemic medications.
Last year, CMS issued a roadmap for states, stressing the importance of multi-payer alignment in value-based care to drive transformation.
According to CMS, moving toward a more value-driven healthcare system allows states to provide Medicaid beneficiaries with efficient, high-quality care while improving health outcomes.
One incentive for providers has been the COVID-19 pandemic and the loss of revenue from fee-for-service compared with value-based contracts when patients stopped coming in for elective care.
ON THE RECORD
"We are proud of our successful collaboration with Cigna to deliver more coordinated care and personalized treatments for people living with kidney disease," David Pollack, president of FMCNA's Integrated Care Group, said by statement. "Our growing partnership with InterWell Health, a renal network of high-performing nephrologists who are focused on value-based care, has also been a contributing factor in our ability to drive improved health outcomes and cost savings for payers like Cigna."
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