New Insurer Branding Signals Integration at Mass General Brigham

AllWays Health Partners, a member of Mass General Brigham, will change its name to Mass General Brigham Health Plan to reflect the level of provider-payer integration taking place. The change will take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Advancing a value-based model that enables affordable primary, secondary and behavioral health care is a central theme in Mass General Brigham’s long-term strategic plan.

AllWays Health Partners is a nonprofit insurer that was founded as Neighborhood Health Plan in 1986 by the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and Greater Boston Forum for Health Action. It became a member of Mass General Brigham (then Partners HealthCare) in 2012 and rebranded to AllWays Health Partners in 2019. Since 2018, in addition to providing commercial insurance to employers, AllWays has provided care and coverage to MassHealth members in the Merrimack Valley through My Care Family, a Medicaid Accountable Care Organization.

The new brand identity reflects Mass General Brigham’s vision for collaborative innovation that can simultaneously lower costs and improve care supported by a value-based care model.

“The healthcare industry is siloed across financing and clinical care. As Mass General Brigham Health Plan, we will be better positioned to break down traditional barriers to coordinated care and coverage through a value-based model that puts the member at the center,” said Steven Tringale, president of AllWays Health Partners, in a statement. “Our model is supported and differentiated by the clinical excellence of one of the world’s leading healthcare systems.”

Mass General Brigham stressed that a key part of value-based care is the flexibility to deliver services in the most medically appropriate, cost-effective, and convenient setting, whether it is an academic medical center, a community-based provider, in the home, or virtually. In addition to improving health outcomes and reducing costs, this flexibility creates opportunities to better manage the health of certain populations or to address the social issues underlying and exacerbating healthcare disparities.

“We are bringing together industry-leading expertise to provide meaningful healthcare solutions for our patients and communities,” said Gregg Meyer, M.D., M.S., president of the community division and executive vice president, value-based care at Mass General Brigham, in a statement. “This kind of collaboration that will be reflected in the new name is at the center of our strategy to advance a value-based care model that improves outcomes, holds down costs, and enhances the healthcare experience.”

“Through our collaboration as an integrated healthcare system, we are deploying innovative population health management approaches that seamlessly integrate the full spectrum of care to meet our members’ needs,” said Lindsay Jubelt, M.D., M.S., chief population health officer, Mass General Brigham, and chief medical officer, AllWays Health Partners, in a statement. “We look forward to bringing more truly unique provider-payer collaborations to the marketplace.”

Mass General Brigham and AllWays detailed some of the ways they have already collaborated on a series of products and programs enabled by their integration, including:

• Allies, a high-performance network launched with Newton-Wellesley Hospital and extended to Salem Hospital that combines world-class care, an exceptional customer experience and lower costs.
• iHeart Champion, a remote medical management program by Brigham and Women’s Hospital to help high-risk patients reduce cholesterol, blood pressure, and risk of heart attack.
• Path to Lifestyle Change, a program by the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center to help at-risk patients delay or prevent type II diabetes.
• Down Syndrome Clinic to You, a program by Massachusetts General Hospital and Mass General for Children that connects families and pediatric primary care physicians with personalized information and guidance for individuals with Down Syndrome.

AllWays and Mass General Brigham have also expanded access to mental healthcare, which is a major determinant of overall health and wellbeing. Responding to a mental health crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, AllWays now offers a new mental health benefit in partnership with Lyra Health, currently available to Mass General Brigham employees enrolled in certain employee health benefit plans. A program evaluation will support a phased rollout to other AllWays members. The solution blends in-person, remote, and self-guided services enabled by a digital platform, as well as care coordination for members with complex mental health needs.