Baylor Scott & White Quality Alliance inked an agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas on Tuesday to bring 140,000 of the insurer’s members under its purview.
BSWQA is the accountable care organization of Baylor Scott & White Health, encompassing 6,000 primary and specialty care physician members, 50 hospitals, and 95 post-acute care facilities. ACOs are set up to tie payments to quality metrics, with reimbursements based on improving outcomes and cutting costs.
The agreement goes into effect this month. The organizations are not releasing financial terms.
“Members enrolled in this new ACO arrangement have access to BSWQA’s comprehensive network of primary and specialty care doctors and facilities with a proven track record for accountability and delivering quality care that is efficient and affordable,” said Baylor Scott & White CEO Jim Hinton in a statement.
The ACO now covers about 600,000 people, according to Baylor Scott & White. It also has commercial contracts with Aetna Whole Health, Cigna Collaborative Care, and UnitedHealthcare, among others. The deal to bring 140,000 BCBSTX members under coverage marks the ACO’s largest value-based agreement with a commercial insurance company.
It’s just a sliver of healthcare consumers the organizations touch overall, however. BCBSTX has 5 million members across Texas. With 48 hospitals and more than 1,000 access points, Baylor Scott & White is the largest nonprofit health system in the state.
“We now have more than 1 million lives under value-based-care arrangements,” BCBSTX President Dr. Dan McCoy said in a statement. “It goes without saying that aligning with a health system with Baylor Scott & White Health’s reputation means our members and their patients will receive high-value, coordinated and quality care.”
