New Healthcare Models, Partnerships Abound
It’s fascinating to watch all the changes taking place in healthcare as states grapple with President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. New healthcare delivery models and seemingly odd partnerships pop up every day. Care coordinators are going into homes to help manage the health of a patient. Parents are taking their children to a drugstore chain for a strep diagnosis because it is cheaper than seeing the pediatrician. Huge health systems are focusing on the health of an entire community rather than just singularly focusing on one sick patient. Check out Jennings’ President Dan Dulop’s recent blog post about concierge medicine, another new and controversial model.
Recently, one of our clients, Dartmouth-Hitchcock, announced a new partnership with another major health system in New Hampshire, Elliot Health System, and a large insurer, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England.
The collaboration between the three will give New Hampshire employers another option when searching for a healthcare plan for employees. They are calling the non-profit product “ElevateHealth.”
The ElevateHealth insurance plan, which will begin accepting members in December, would include 400 primary care doctors and 2,600 specialists from not only Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Elliot Health System, but also from four other systems and their affiliated physicians. ElevateHealth was created to offer a higher level of care and coordination at an affordable price, according to Dartmouth-Hitchcock CEO James Weinstein.
Benefits to members include:
- A nurse, acting as a care coordinator. Nurses will help guide members through the health system by acting as a liaison between the doctors and patient and also serve as a “wellness advocate.”
- Premiums that are 10% lower than other Harvard Pilgrim employer-sponsored plans.
It looks like the involved parties have created a plan with an eye on customer service – a real differentiator in this every-changing healthcare market.
To learn more about ElevateHealth, check out these two articles from The Telegraph and Concord Monitor.
