TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Aetna (NYSE: AET), BayCare Health System and BayCare Physician Partners, announced today a new collaborative care agreement designed to improve the quality of care for Aetna members and lower overall health care costs. The agreement includes Aetna commercial and Medicare Advantage members.

Aetna is delighted to participate in this new agreement with BayCare, said Mark LaBorde, president of Aetnas Florida markets. This is the first of what we expect will be several joint efforts to improve the overall quality of health care and reduce costs for customers in the Tampa Bay area.

Aetna members who received care from physicians who are part of BayCares clinically integrated network in the last 24 months will participate in the new collaborative care model. Aetna is also introducing a Medicare Provider Collaboration model with BayCare Physician Partners to support Aetna Medicare Advantage members in the area.

Aetna provides health benefits to more than 1 million people in Florida through a broad array of commercial and Medicare plans. Its members have access to a contracted network of 209 hospitals and more than 28,000 primary care and specialist physicians.

BayCare Physician Partners is a group of 1,100 physicians both employed by BayCare and independent community physicians who have agreed to work together to improve the health of their patients and enhance the overall quality and efficiency of patient care services in the Tampa Bay area.

To create this new model of care, BayCare Physician Partners spent more than a year developing the network and recruiting physicians with backing from BayCare, the areas leading health system with 10 not-for-profit hospitals, home care, laboratories and outpatient facilities. The result is a clinically integrated network of physicians that commit to coordinating with one another and using advanced technology to manage and improve patient care.

Under the collaborative care agreement, Aetna and BayCare agreed to a new payment model that supports physicians in assuming greater accountability for the quality and cost of Aetna members overall health care experience.

Aetna will reward BayCare physicians for achieving agreed upon quality and efficiency measures, including:

Our collaboration with Aetna will help evolve the health care delivery system in the Tampa Bay area into a new, improved model, said Bruce Flareau, M.D., president of BayCare Physician Partners and executive vice president, BayCare Health System. By working together, BayCare and Aetna can align resources and share information around the goals of prevention, early detection and chronic disease management, and ultimately lead to a healthier community.

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Aetna and BayCare to Introduce Collaborative Care in Tampa