Horizon BCBS to provide patient-centered medical homes

In other news, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts members may shell out more for certain hospitals.

In New Jersey, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield has initiated a program with 63 primary care physicians to provide ‘patient-centered medical homes’ to their patients. Instead of reimbursing the physicians for treating sick patients, the insurance company will pay the participating physicians a fee for coordinating patient care, which includes practices such as scheduling wellness visits along with tracking patient health.

That apart, the payer will offer additional payment incentives if the physicians demonstrate efforts that ensure more patients are getting timely screenings.  Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield is placing ‘population care coordinators’ at the participating practice offices to provide clinical and administrative support for this program.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the goal is to cut costs and keep up with changes in the health-care industry by changing how primary care physicians are paid by providing incentives to monitor patients between visits.

In other news, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts unveiled a new plan in January this year. According to the plan, members will pay more for being treated at more expensive hospitals. It is their fastest new product launch ever, the payer stated.

The plan charges members an additional $1,000 for an inpatient stay or outpatient surgery, and $450 extra for an MRI at 15 more-expensive hospitals, including Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s hospitals, according to a Boston Globe report. 

What’s more, companies and workers that sign up get an important break in their health insurance premiums, increasing by 4.5 percent for the first quarter of the year in place of 10 percent.