Integral Health Network of Southern Arizona and Banner - University Family Care Achieve 12.1% Reduction in 2023 Medical Loss Ratio

WILMINGTON, N.C., March 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Integral Health Network of Southern Arizona (IHNSA), a ONEcare Network managed by Alera Health, and Banner – University Family Care have successfully achieved a momentous 12.1% reduction in the 2023 Medical Loss Ratio (MLR), marking another milestone in their ongoing partnership. This success reflects the collaborative efforts to improve health outcomes and reduce costs for some of Arizona's most vulnerable populations.

In 2023, IHNSA stood out as one of the best-performing Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) in the state, excelling not only in reducing MLR but also in improving quality. These results were driven by a robust outreach strategy that successfully engaged hard-to-reach populations, ensuring that their healthcare needs were met.

"Achieving this reduction in MLR required coordinated efforts and innovative outreach strategies," said Dr. Sandra Stein, Chief Medical Officer with Banner – University Family Care.  "We focused on ensuring that members had access to timely and effective care, which played a key role in reaching this goal."

"Not only do these members have complex medical and behavioral health issues, they are historically unengaged in outpatient care," shared John Hogeboom, CEO of Community Bridges, Inc. a participant in and board member of IHNSA, "As an integrated system of care, we have had to learn how to collaborate with our competitors as well as hospitals, primary care, and Banner – University Health Plans by sharing data, follow-up tasks, best practices, and innovative tools."

Looking forward, the two organizations are making plans to expand the number of lives attributed to IHNSA as well as to more closely align Banner Health's primary care and hospital resources to timely identify and coordinate with IHNSA.  "These results are a testament to the promise of integrated care incentivized under value-based contracting," says Alera Health CEO Mike Rhoades. "We are honored to provide the population health management support and tools and congratulate IHNSA and BUHP on their amazing work."

About IHNSA

IHNSA is a Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) serving Southern Arizona, dedicated to providing high-quality, integrated care to members with a primary or secondary behavioral health condition through assertive engagement, timely access, gap closure, and collaboration with healthcare providers and community partners.

About Banner

University Family CareBanner – University Family Care (B – UFC) is a locally owned health plan and is a recognized Medicaid-managed care leader. Launched in 1985, B – UFC began as a Medicaid contractor and has expanded operations to include Medicare and integrated behavioral health services across Arizona. B – UFC owns and operates AHCCCS Complete Care and an Arizona Long Term Care System health plans and serves close to 300,000 lives in Arizona. Committed to serving vulnerable populations, B – UFC is the only Arizona plan that holds membership in the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, a national trade association for nonprofit Safety Net Health Plans that are dedicated to improving the health and well-being of lower-income individuals and people with significant health needs. Our parent company, Banner Health, is one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the country, with operations in six states. To learn more, visit www.BannerHealth.com/medicaid.

About Alera Health 

Alera Health, a national leader in population health management and integrated care, works closely with healthcare payers, providers, and community partners to operationalize and manage high-performance ONEcare networks delivering comprehensive, inclusive, and informed whole-person care designed to improve health outcomes and reduce costs. Alera Health has extensive operational expertise in developing clinically integrated networks, population health analytics, care coordination technologies, and clinical quality improvement programs. Each ONEcare network is augmented by the Care Optimization Suite which allows real-time communication, referrals, and mobile patient engagement. With over three million managed lives across the US, ONEcare networks share resources and evidenced-based practice to divert over 250,000 unnecessary inpatient bed days annually while lowering 30-day readmission rates by over 50%. Learn more at www.alerahealth.com.

Name: Kye Gardner

Title: Executive Director of Corporate Operations & Development

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1-833-265-7549

SOURCE Alera Health