Leading Ohio Healthcare Organizations Collaborate to Create New Model of Care for a Healthier Ohio

LIMA, Ohio, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Four of Ohio's leading healthcare organizations – Catholic Health Partners (Cincinnati), Mount Carmel Health System (Columbus), Summa Health System (Akron) and University Hospitals (Cleveland) – have collaborated to create Health Innovations Ohio (HIO). This independent organization is building a new, fully integrated and aligned model of care to achieve superior quality, health and value for Ohioans.

"Health Innovations Ohio will transform healthcare across the state by fostering value-based care and payment reform throughout our health systems which, taken together, reach more than 22 percent of Ohio's healthcare market," said President and CEO Jim Reber.

Focused on making a difference
Initially, Health Innovations Ohio is focusing its work in three areas: Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care and population health management for HIO sponsoring systems' employees and their dependents.

Expanding statewide access to the HIO-affiliated Medicare Advantage programs as of January 2013 was one of HIO's first collaborative successes. MediGold, offered through Mount Carmel Health System, and SummaCare, offered through Summa Health System, are now additionally available in northern and southwestern Ohio through providers and facilities affiliated with Catholic Health Partners and University Hospitals. Each of these highly rated plans focuses on providing exceptional service and value to Ohio seniors who need affordable health insurance.

The founders also envision bringing the benefits of aligned, coordinated care to Medicaid managed care members by working with Medicaid managed care contractors and aligning incentives through pay-for-performance and shared-savings contracts.

Together, HIO's four member organizations provide healthcare coverage for more workers and their family members than any employer in the state. Adopting best-practice population health management programs and incentives in their own workplaces, HIO founders are helping their more than 70,000 employees attain better health while lowering their healthcare costs.

Moving quickly from idea to reality
HIO's four organizations came together officially in mid-2012 when no such state-wide provider networks existed nationwide and first turned their attention to defining the organization's structure and strategic agenda. "Health Innovations Ohio was born of a belief by the leaders of the four founding organizations that healthcare reform brings an opportunity to make real changes that lead to better care for our communities," said Reber. "Through the course of normal dialogue, it became clear that these four systems shared a common goal to make healthcare better, which led to discussions about the potential of working together."

Today, HIO members lead Ohio in piloting and establishing new models of integrated care to reduce fragmentation and deliver improved quality, patient experience and cost. They have launched more than 60 Patient-Centered Medical Home Sites, recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. They also have created Accountable Care Organizations to manage the health of a variety of populations, enrolling nearly 200,000 traditional Medicare beneficiaries, pediatric Medicaid recipients and HIO member employees.

Health Innovations Ohio welcomes inquiries from other healthcare providers, government officials and policy makers, from community and business leaders and from payers.

More information is available from Jim Reber, President and CEO, at (419) 226-9100 or [email protected] and at www.HealthInnovationsOhio.com.

SOURCE University Hospitals