Florida Blue and Moffitt Cancer Center Create Cancer-Specific Accountable Care Arrangement

JACKSONVILLE and TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, and Moffitt Cancer Center are proud to announce a new agreement creating an accountable care program specific to the treatment of cancer.

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The overall goals of accountable care arrangements are to improve individual patient care and overall health, as well as decrease medical costs. The accountable care program between Moffitt and Florida Blue utilizes a value-based compensation structure and is another example of Florida Blue's payment innovation efforts being deployed in the Tampa Bay market.

Florida Blue and the Moffitt Medical Group — with 330 oncology practitioners in Florida dedicated to cancer care — have agreed to focus on common cancers for an accountable care arrangement and will collaboratively identify and select quality metrics for the program. As part of this multiyear program that will start in 2013, Moffitt and Florida Blue will be committed to enhancing patient care through sharing clinical and administrative claims data. 

"We are honored to embark on this unique oncology-focused accountable care structure and performance-based arrangement with Moffitt Cancer Center," said Dr. Jonathan Gavras, senior vice president and chief medical officer for Florida Blue. "Both organizations realize the importance of moving away from the fee-for-service model to one that focuses on quality outcomes, and this arrangement marks a step in a new direction for relationships between providers and insurers."

Moffitt is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida. The cancer center delivers all levels of care for people with cancer and related diseases, as well as screening and prevention services, to support its mission: to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.

"It is a privilege for Moffitt to partner with one of the nation's leading insurers to redirect how we jointly can manage the costs and quality of health care for patients with cancer. In the end, we see the patient as the major benefactor," said Dr. Alan F. List, president and chief executive officer of Moffitt. "This partnership with Florida Blue focuses on the value we provide our patients, and that becomes a positive for everyone. I anticipate that we will learn a lot from this new venture and that it will help us to continue to improve cancer care. Keeping quality as our focus ensures that we will continue to improve survival rates for patients battling this disease."

About Moffitt Cancer Center
Located in Tampa, Moffitt is one of only 41 National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, a distinction that recognizes Moffitt's excellence in research, its contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Since 1999, Moffitt has been listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer. With more than 4,200 employees, Moffitt has an economic impact on the state of nearly $2 billion. For more information, visit MOFFITT.org, and follow the Moffitt momentum on Facebook, twitter and YouTube.

About Florida Blue
Florida Blue, Florida's Blue Cross and Blue Shield company, is a leader in Florida's health care industry. Our mission is to help people and communities achieve better health. Florida Blue has approximately 4 million health care members and serves 15.5 million people in 16 states through its affiliated companies. Florida Blue is a not-for- profit, policyholder-owned, tax-paying mutual company. Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., it is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies. www.FloridaBlue.com.

SOURCE Florida Blue