Electronic Health Reporter

McKesson Business Performance Services (McKesson) announced it has partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) to form a joint venture designed to deliver a broad range of services to healthcare providers to succeed in today’s value-based environment. The new company, ACO Partner, is a Maximum Services Organization, an innovative collaborative that will leverage McKesson’s physician engagement, care management, and population health services and technology. ACO Partner plans to contract with payers and provider groups nationwide to increase the overall quality of care through strong partnerships with providers in pursuit of the triple aim of lowering costs, improving outcomes and enhancing overall patient experience.

ACO Partner’s central objective is to unify patients, providers and payers across the care continuum. Provider organizations will have access to a full spectrum of value-based services, including strategic management, analytics, physician engagement, network development, care coordination, care navigation and patient engagement. Participating providers will also have access to shared savings opportunities with partnering payers that will provide incentives for greater efficiencies and improvements in the quality of care.

The first payer to contract with ACO Partner is BCBSAZ, which has over 1.5 million covered lives in Arizona. In addition, BCBSAZ is also a primary investor in ACO Partner through their subsidiary, Trinnovate Ventures. McKesson and BCBSAZ have invested in the development of an infrastructure that will support strategic collaboration between payers and providers while enabling ongoing patient engagement.

Vishu J. Jhaveri, MD, senior vice president of Health Services and chief medical officer of BCBSAZ, said the company recognizes the importance of collaborating both with providers and other payers to achieve the triple aim.

“BCBSAZ is enthusiastic about working with McKesson on this innovative joint venture,” Jhaveri said. “We are fully committed to supporting an approach that benefits not only our patients but also other patients, providers and stakeholders across the care continuum.”

“McKesson’s proven track record of collaborating with multiple payers and providers, along with the resources they have developed to help these organizations succeed in the value-based environment, make this an ideal fit for BCBSAZ. We look forward to working closely with them to help make triple aim a reality.”

John Wallace, McKesson’s national vice president and general manager of accountable care services, and appointed president and COO of ACO Partner, said ACO Partner offers a systematic, scalable, payer-neutral solution that can assist physicians with the practical components of value-based care, including disease management, care management, population health management and patient engagement.

“ACO Partner will help benefit all healthcare stakeholders along the healthcare continuum,” Wallace said. “For physicians and health systems, McKesson’s services will help ease their burden as they become active participants in value-based care. For payers, ACO Partner will help support improved outcomes and cost efficiencies by educating patients about high-quality, lower cost care, and by improving coordination and collaboration between providers. Finally, for patients, the new entity is intended to strengthen outcomes while helping reduce out-of-pocket expenses.”

Pat Leonard, president of McKesson Business Performance Services, said ACO Partner will harness resources from across McKesson Corporation to provide comprehensive services and technology infrastructure designed to enable physicians and health systems to deliver value-based care to their BCBSAZ patient population. McKesson will provide analytics to support payers as they collaborate with provider networks to improve care quality, reduce unnecessary medical spend, manage population risk and support population health management.

“As the nation’s largest healthcare company, McKesson is fortunate to have an enormous pool of highly skilled individuals who have developed a very practical understanding of the tools and skills providers need today to be successful,” added Leonard. “We are excited about focusing these capabilities through ACO Partner and working with a company like BCBSAZ to make this powerful vision a reality.”

About McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 11th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit www.mckesson.com.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ)
BCBSAZ is committed to helping Arizonans get healthier faster and stay healthier longer. With a focus on connecting people with the care they need, BCBSAZ offers health insurance and related services to nearly 1.5 million customers. BCBSAZ, a not-for-profit company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. The company employs nearly 1,500 people in its Phoenix, Chandler, Flagstaff and Tucson offices. Through advanced clinical programs and community outreach, BCBSAZ is moving health forward. To learn more, visit www.azblue.com

About Trinnovate Ventures, Inc.
Trinnovate Ventures, Inc., a subsidiary of BCBSAZ, is designed to accelerate health innovation through strategic investments that improve the quality of life, increase efficiencies and enhance the overall healthcare experience for consumers and providers. Trinnovate Ventures fosters business development, advances the business incubation cycle of emerging healthcare solutions and services, and offers access to capital and strategic assets.

About ACO Partner
ACO Partner was founded as a joint venture by MED3OOO, Inc., a subsidiary of McKesson and Trinnovate Ventures, a subsidiary of BCBSAZ. ACO Partner is an independent physician-centric organization that works with payers, providers, and patients to create value-based care models. ACO Partner is a payer-neutral company, with the goal of achieving the Triple Aim of improved patient experience, improved health of the population, and reduction in the per capita cost of care.