Fort Washington, Pa.-based Noble Health Alliance, a three-year-old partnership formed by four Philadelphia area health systems, is disbanding, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The four founding members, which were each independent at the time of Noble's formation, include Philadelphia-based Aria Health, Springfield, Pa.-based Crozer-Keystone Health System, Abington (Pa.) Health and Philadelphia-based Einstein Healthcare Network.
"Each member of Noble remains committed to these goals," said Kathleen Kinslow, chairwoman of the Noble board of managers and CEO of Aria Health, according to the report. "However, as some Noble member health systems have entered into mergers or acquisitions, and considering the rapidly evolving healthcare market in the Philadelphia region, the board of managers believes that Noble Health Alliance is no longer the optimal model through which to achieve our quality and cost goals."
Abington Health left the alliance after finalizing a merger with Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health System last year, according to the report. Aria Health is currently in the process of joining Jefferson and Abington, while Crozer-Keystone is in the final phase of being acquired by Prospect Medical Holdings, based in Los Angeles.
Since its inception in 2013, Noble Health Alliance built a network consisting of more than 2,000 primary care physicians and specialists. The physicians participating in the network will not be affected by the dissolution of the alliance, and Noble will fulfill incentive payments to eligible physicians for meeting quality goals in the 2016 fiscal year, according to the report.
Noble's daily business operations will come to a close at the end of June, with certain administrative functions related to its physician network continuing through the end of 2016, according to the report.