Employer Group Launches Primary Care-Driven Network in Puget Sound Area
The Puget Sound region of Washington is the first to offer the Purchaser Business Group on Health’s Advanced Primary Care-driven healthcare network to eligible member employees and families.
PBGH is a nonprofit coalition representing 40 private employers and public entities across the United States. The network is a “system of excellence” driven by quality and patient care standards of PBGH’s Advanced Primary Care (APC) program and includes high-value specialty referrals to deliver comprehensive, whole-person care.
Multiple PBGH employers are participating, including The Boeing Company and eBay whose combined tens of thousands of eligible employees can now access the network of advanced primary care and high-quality specialists through their employer-sponsored health benefits.
“PBGH identifies top providers who meet quality standards based off of clinical best practices, purchaser expectations of patient experience, and administrative transparency to achieve the PBGH Care Excellence designation,” said Raymond Tsai, M.D., MS, a family medicine physician serving as PBGH’s Vice President of Advanced Primary Care, in a statement.
EmsanaCare, a company co-founded by PBGH, directly contracts with those providers and enables care navigation among them. Eligible employees and families gain access to a vetted network of high-quality primary care and specialty providers, and navigation services for referrals.
“By directly contracting with top primary care and specialty providers, thousands of employees and their dependents can access primary care that meets PBGH’s quality standards. By ensuring seamless navigation between primary care and top specialists, we make getting the best care easy. Employees have improved access, satisfaction, and outcomes,” said Dane Guarino, CEO of EmsanaCare, in a statement. “At the same time, employers enjoy simplified plan implementation and peace of mind that they are creating a pathway to improved health that is easier for their employees to use.”
The Puget Sound region of Washington is the first of many markets nationwide planned for the network. There is currently another open request for proposal for APC providers who want to work with employers in the San Antonio, Texas, market, with additional markets being planned for 2025.
