Better Care and Lower Costs: The Provider-Aligned Model of Care

Annual Report on Affordability highlights how integrated care models improve quality while lowering health care spending

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- As health care spending rises and midterm elections come into focus, policymakers are searching for ways to improve affordability without sacrificing quality. A new report from the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) highlights how its nonprofit, local member health plans deliver better care at lower costs in communities across the country.

The 2026 Report on Affordability in Health Care examines the payer-provider model   and the programs and systems that improve health outcomes, lower costs, expand access and enhance affordability. The report finds these plans are critical drivers of payer-provider collaboration, consistently outperforming fragmented fee-for-service alternatives on quality and improving the health of local communities.

"As policymakers search for solutions to rising medical bills, our members demonstrate that better outcomes and greater affordability can go hand in hand," said ACHP President and CEO Ceci Connolly. "ACHP members are ahead of the curve, launching innovative programs to provide high value for every health care dollar spent."

The report highlights how payer-provider partnerships align financial incentives across the health care ecosystem. Every prevented hospitalization, emergency room visit and chronic disease complication reduces spending. This alignment helps ACHP members and their clinical partners mitigate hospitalizations, promote appropriate medication use and deliver well-coordinated care.

Highlights from the 2026 Report on Affordability in Health Care include:

• Geisinger Health Plan reached more than 3,400 children through community-based programs promoting healthy habits and preventing childhood obesity.
• Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin eliminated a 200-plus patient mental health waitlist, reduced the use of an Intensive Outpatient Program use by 77 percent and generated more than $4 million in savings.
• Health Alliance Plan by Henry Ford Health lowered participants' A1C levels by an average of 1.6 percentage points, generating nearly $600,000 in savings.
• HealthPartners reduced weight-loss drug cost trends by 32 percent through a personalized diabetes management program for members using GLP-1 medications.
• Jefferson Health Plans cut avoidable hospital readmissions, generating an estimated $1 million to $1.25 million in savings for its health system.
• Priority Health lowered low birth weight rates among high-risk populations through targeted maternal health interventions.

Read the 2026 Report on Affordability in Health Care here.

About ACHP
The Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) represents the nation's best local, nonprofit health plans, providing high-quality coverage to tens of millions of Americans in 46 states and D.C. ACHP is the only national organization advancing a unique partnership model of coverage and care that fosters a truly competitive market.

We believe Americans deserve the best health care in the world. Our members are on the ground in your communities, delivering innovative and competitive coverage. ACHP's model brings together clinicians and health plans to deliver value for patients, employers and taxpayers.

SOURCE Alliance of Community Health Plans