Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced last week it has launched four new accountable care organizations in and near Iowa. The new ACO agreements were formed with West Burlington, Iowa-based Great River Health Systems, Mercy Iowa City (Iowa), Omaha, Neb.-based Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital and Pella (Iowa) Regional Health Center.
With the four new ACOs, Wellmark will have 13 total accountable care agreements, including more than 2,000 physicians and covering approximately 525,000 beneficiaries.
As part of the ACO agreement, Wellmark provides financial incentives to providers to manage the health of its member population. If providers hit benchmarks for quality and costs, they have the opportunity to share in savings.
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