Intermountain Healthcare and Colorado-based UCHealth are forming a partnership to develop a clinically integrated network (CIN), bringing together 700 primary care physicians and hundreds of clinics and hospitals, with support from specialists throughout Colorado. In addition, the partnership will help bring a new health insurance option to Coloradans.
The CIN aims to accelerate the transition to value-based care in the state by improving care coordination and providing higher-quality healthcare for more than 300,000 residents at lower costs.
Initially, Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare’s Colorado Quality Care Network and UCHealth’s Coordinated Care Colorado network will be brought together to create the joint venture CIN; other affiliated Colorado CINs/provider networks may join the venture in the future.
The partnership will also support health insurance products and programs offered through SelectHealth, which will provide Medicare Advantage and Individual ACA (Affordable Care Act) plans, pending regulatory approval, beginning on Jan. 1, 2024. SelectHealth is a nonprofit subsidiary of Intermountain, serving more than one million members in Utah, Idaho, and Nevada.
“For many years, UCHealth has focused on reducing healthcare costs, lowering insurance premiums, and improving the lives of our patients. We are excited to partner with Intermountain to advance these goals and to give Coloradans a new option for their health insurance that prioritizes value-based care,” said Elizabeth B. Concordia, UCHealth president and CEO, in a statement. “Together, we will help improve the overall health of the communities we serve.”
“The CIN will treat SelectHealth just like all payers here. Any plan that aligns with the CIN’s goals of ensuring a better patient experience and health outcomes while lowering costs will be considered a valuable partner,” said Mark Korth, Intermountain Healthcare’s regional president, in a statement. “UCHealth and Intermountain look forward to the next evolution to our value-based care approach.”
Although UCHealth and Intermountain are creating a new CIN partnership, the two health systems will remain separate and independent, and the CIN will be operated as an independent company. The two organizations said they expect their current contracts and relationships with insurance plans to continue as they work with all providers to improve quality and reduce costs.
