Insurers, providers announce partnerships in Wash., Pa. and Minn.

The partnerships seek to both improve quality and reduce costs.

The Seattle Times: Group Health Expands Partnership
Group Health Cooperative and Tacoma-based Franciscan Health System have signed a five-year contract aimed at reducing costs and providing a more seamless experience for patients. Since 1996, Group Health has sent South Sound patients needing hospital care to Franciscan facilities, primarily St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma. Under the new five-year agreement -; a renewal and expansion of the previous contract -; both sides say they will work on such goals as reducing hospital readmissions through close, early management of chronic diseases and collaboration between hospitals and patients' primary-care doctors (Ostrom, 6/14).

Modern Healthcare: Pa. System, Insurer Partner On Accountable Care
PinnacleHealth System, Harrisburg, Pa., and Capital Blue Cross announced the launch of what the partners describe as an "accountable care arrangement." Under the agreement, Pinnacle doctors will use Capital Blue Cross data and technology and work with the insurer's nurses to provide patient care, according to a news release (Evans, 6/14). 

Minnesota Public Radio: Mayo Gains In-Network Access To Medica
Minneapolis-based Medica says it will offer in-network access to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester and its system of clinics beginning July 1 for new enrollees in 22 southern Minnesota counties. ... The agreement sets a new standard in health insurance because it pays for value, said Dr. John Noseworthy, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic. "Under the arrangement, Mayo will be paid based on how well it manages the population's health from a clinical quality perspective as well as the overall cost of care," Noseworthy said. "It is an incentive-based form of payment" (Benson, 6/14).