Value-based primary care company Cityblock is expanding its footprint in Ohio by partnering with Buckeye Health Plan to provide integrated community-based care to approximately 10,000 Medicaid recipients in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton area.
Buckeye is a managed care plan and wholly owned subsidiary of Centene Corp. that serves more than 428,000 Ohio Medicaid members.
Founded in 2017, Cityblock provides services to Medicaid and Medicare-Medicaid dually eligible beneficiaries. Since 2022, it has been serving more than 10,000 members across Ohio, including at its two community clinics in Columbus and Cincinnati through its partnership with Molina Healthcare. It also operates in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Indiana.
Cityblock's community-based and technology-enabled care model seeks to help eliminate barriers to high-quality care and improve health outcomes, complementing the primary care services of Buckeye's existing provider network. Cityblock also partners with community-based organizations to address members' social needs, including food instability and access to safe housing.
As part of the partnership, Buckeye will connect Cityblock healthcare providers to members who have not engaged with their primary care provider in the last 12 months. By working with members to complete their annual well-visit, Cityblock providers can focus on preventive care and care of chronic conditions. This partnership aims to reduce preventable emergency room and unnecessary in-patient services, while providing proactive care for advancing diseases. In addition, Cityblock will provide 24/7 wrap-around services to extend clinical care and care coordination beyond the doctor's office – allowing members to see their multidisciplinary care team virtually, in their homes, or at local Cityblock clinics.
"Buckeye's approach supports whole-person health," said Brad Lucas, M.D., M.B.A, Buckeye’s chief medical officer, in a statement. "We are pleased to partner with Cityblock to further address physical, behavioral, environmental and social factors that can be barriers to early intervention and ongoing care."
In its 2024 Equity in Action Report, Cityblock said its model shows increased engagement, higher retention rates, and meaningful reductions in inpatient admissions.
Cityblock came in at No. 29 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies for 2023.
In a March 2023 interview, Ankush Khona, Cityblock’s chief data officer, told Healthcare Innovation that “Cityblock is a value-based care organization. We focus on behavioral health, social care, primary care. Everything requires a personalization capability, and hence you have to look at technology. Everything is driven by data.”
