Intermountain has expanded an agreement with UnitedHealthcare that gives their more than 454,000 members in Utah access to Intermountain’s behavioral health network.
“With this agreement, our providers can now refer internally to our own behavioral health network,” says Nick Bassett, Intermountain’s vice president of population health services. “This makes it easier to keep that care integrated and provide continuity of care.”
UnitedHealthcare is also launching an accountable care organization (ACO) in partnership with Castell, an Intermountain Healthcare company. The ACO will support UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members assigned to Intermountain value-focused primary care physicians and APPs, as well as primary care physicians and APPs in Washington and Iron counties who contract with Castell. These providers will coordinate care with the support system of Castell’s care management team, care coordination, documentation and coding, and network services teams.
The Medicare Advantage members will experience focused preventive care and wellness support, chronic condition management, and ongoing communication and outreach — thanks to the combined support of Intermountain and Castell. All UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members will be included in the tools, workflows, and resources Castell is providing to support teams across the system.
“Our collaboration with Intermountain Healthcare through this new accountable care model will support our shared goal of improving both the quality and cost of healthcare,” says Marc Briggs, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare and Retirement in Utah. “We’re always looking for ways to provide a better healthcare experience for those we serve through our Medicare Advantage plans and believe this expanded relationship with Intermountain will help us do that.”
With the new accountable care relationship, UnitedHealthcare will provide an enhanced level of data and support to Intermountain to enable our providers to deliver more comprehensive and coordinated care to patients. For example, UnitedHealthcare will share data about its members’ underlying medical conditions, past treatments, gaps in care, prescriptions, and future care needs. The data will give Intermountain physicians a better picture of their patients’ health status and arm them with valuable information that supports their efforts to provide quality care. In turn, physicians will more easily be able to identify patients at higher risk for adverse health outcomes, such as emergency room visits or hospital readmissions, allowing for quicker interventions. Physicians can also use the data to reduce duplicative tests and help patients manage their chronic conditions and take their medications as prescribed.
Intermountain and UnitedHealthcare have shared a commitment to improving access to quality care since 2004. This new agreement strengthens that commitment and supports both organizations’ efforts throughout Utah to enhance clinical outcomes; drive care affordability for patients, members, and employer customers; provide comprehensive physical and behavioral health services for whole-patient care; and create an exceptional patient experience.