Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System and Green Bay, Wis.-based Prevea Health have signed a letter of intent to join Brookfield, Wis.-based Integrated Health Network of Wisconsin, a multi-system, clinically integrated accountable care network, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report.
Through the agreement, which is expected to become final before the end of 2014, Integrated Health Network will expand throughout the northeastern part of Wisconsin and compete with statewide network abouthealth, which formed through a recently-created partnership between seven of Wisconsin's top healthcare systems, according to the report.
Abouthealth includes Wausau-based Aspirus, Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care, Green Bay-based Bellin Health, La Crosse-based Gundersen Health System, Waukesha-based ProHealth Care, Appleton-based ThedaCare and Madison-based UW Health.
Integrated Health Network and abouthealth want to have exclusive contracts with health insurers as well as employers, according to the report.
Additionally, both systems would like for their members to work with each other "to improve healthcare quality and lower costs," the report reads.
With the addition of Hospital Sisters Health System and Prevea Health, Integrated Health Network's accountable care organization will grow to 42 hospitals, 500 clinics and more than 5,000 physicians statewide, according to the report.
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