The Texas Medical Association and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas struck an interesting agreement this week to form a new organization — called TMA PracticeEdge — that will help independent physicians secure value-based contracts.
"I literally signed the agreement with TMA yesterday," says Bert Marshall, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. He expects the ACO-enabling organization — as he describes it — to be "up and running" in just a few months. 
Autonomy is something Texas physicians take seriously — approximately two-thirds of physicians in the state practice independently. TMA is the largest medical association in the country, with approximately 48,000 physician and medical school members.
TMA PracticeEdge will act as a stepping stone and resource for independent physicians who want to move toward performance-based reimbursement, but are not interested in hospital employment. The organization will offer consultations to reduce the burden of data entry, for instance. It will also assist physicians with care coordination to better manage high-risk patients and provide software tools for population health management.
The organizations say TMA PracticeEdge will help connect physicians based on the needs of their specific patients rather than which system employs them.
"What we're working with TMA around is providing options for those physicians to be able to access value-based care contracts. When this is fully implemented, they will have access to those contracts and the option to remain independent," says Mr. Marshall. "Really there is a barrier to independent physicians being able to do this without this type of organization."
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