ChristianaCare, Highmark Health Create Data-Led, Value-Based Care Joint Venture
The Wilmington, Del.-based ChristianaCare and Pittsburgh-based Highmark Health are creating a new joint-venture company that officials say is technology-led and focused on value-based, equitable care.
The three hospital ChristianaCare and Highmark Health—the latter being the parent company of Highmark Inc., which through its subsidiaries and affiliates provide health insurance to more than 6 million members in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and New York—say they are “combining their expertise and capabilities to completely transform healthcare by creating a new model of value-based care that is continuous and data- and technology-led. The new model will be a radical departure from the transactional, fee-for-service model that underpins much of American healthcare,” they say.
Importantly, the 10-year joint venture does not represent a merger or an exclusivity agreement between ChristianaCare and Highmark Health. Both organizations will continue to operate independently and have strong relationships with the other payers and providers in the markets they serve, officials stated.
To begin with, two engines will power the creation and delivery of new models of care, according to officials. The first is the Solution Design Center, which will create data- and technology-driven solutions designed to improve health outcomes, efficiency and experience for patients, members and care providers.
“The Solution Design Center is unlike anything out there, because it goes beyond what a leading healthcare system’s innovation center is typically able to do, combining expertise and data from both the provider side and the payer side,” asserted Ken L. Silverstein, M.D., ChristianaCare’s chief physician executive. “This combination unlocks a holistic view that really enables us to see the opportunities and impact we can have on both outcomes and cost.”
The second key component of the joint venture is ChristianaCare’s Center for Virtual Health, which develops, tests and deploys virtual capabilities for primary and specialty care that will aim to improve patient access, experience and outcomes while reducing the total cost of care.
Organization leaders believe the partnership’s most immediate impact will be in Delaware, where ChristianaCare and Highmark’s Delaware health plan affiliate are full steam ahead on their value-based care journeys. The two organizations partnered in 2019 in a value-based payment agreement to improve the health of Medicaid patients in the state, enabling ChristianaCare to address both medical and non-medical health needs of Highmark Health Options members—something that was very difficult to achieve in a traditional fee-for-service model of care, according to officials. With promising indicators of improvement over year one, this agreement will continue to provide insight to how our organizations can transform care together, they noted.
The two organizations say they will focus on whole-person health care and unlocking new opportunities to achieve health equity, address social determinants of health and build healthier communities. This new model of care incentivizes outcomes and efficiency, they say.
“Today we take a bold step forward to revolutionize healthcare. We are rethinking the way care is delivered and the way it’s paid for creating a new health care ecosystem that will enable better health and more affordable, accessible, high-quality care that is continuous and data-driven,” said Janice E. Nevin, M.D., president and CEO of ChristianaCare.
Officials added that for decades, healthcare in the U.S. “has been a tug-of-war between payers and providers, with incentives that are misaligned and inefficiencies throughout the system. That dynamic hasn’t created the outcomes, equity or affordability that we need.”
For example, they offered, today’s system is built around the visit—to the doctor, to the lab, to the specialist. When someone has diabetes or hypertension, they have it every day. As such, Highmark and ChristianaCare are aiming to modernize the delivery of care so that it no longer needs to revolve around an appointment with the doctor. They say they will leverage data and technology deliver care that anticipates the needs of the individual and doesn’t pause between appointments.
That care might include wearable technologies or technology in the home, video visits or secure texting, data-powered care management and in-person consultations when appropriate—all designed to ensure the right care and resources are engaged at the right time for each person.
Nevin added, “This is a problem-solving company that will take cost and inefficiencies out of the system, aligning everything around what’s right for the patient. It will enable much stronger, continuous connections between people and their health care providers, building lasting relationships, achieving health equity and creating health so that people can flourish.”
Overall, ChristianaCare and Highmark Health have committed to a 10-year joint venture, with oversight by a board equally comprised of leaders from both organizations. In addition to developing solutions for their own patients and members, the organizations expect that many of the innovations developed through the joint venture will have nationwide impact, as healthcare providers and payers seek to adopt proven new solutions that improve the quality, experience and affordability of care.
“Our two organizations have worked alongside one another for many years consistent with the traditional provider-insurer relationship, and we both saw the opportunity for innovation and progress by entering into a strategic partnership,” said Deborah L. Rice-Johnson, president of Highmark Inc. and chief growth officer of Highmark Health. “We believe we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the future of health care so that it’s more sustainable and delivers better health for the people and communities we serve.”
