Mission Health Partners and UnitedHealthcare establish network and accountable care relationship

From Mission Health Partners:

Mission Health Partners and UnitedHealthcare
Establish Network and Accountable Care Relationship

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (July 12, 2016) – Mission Health Partners (MHP) and UnitedHealthcare have established a new network relationship that gives people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare plans access to all Mission Health Partners facilities and physicians.

The Mission Health Partners network includes clinicians, hospitals and other health care providers committed to improving access to high-quality care, improving clinical outcomes, lowering costs of care and creating an exceptional patient experience for western North Carolina residents.

“We are delighted to establish a network relationship with UnitedHealthcare,” said Marc Malloy, senior vice president, Health Plan Solutions, Mission Health, and executive director, Mission Health Partners. “By bringing our networks together, we can enhance and improve access to critical health services for more individuals and families served by UnitedHealthcare.”

MHP is the largest Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in North Carolina. In 2017, the two organizations will strengthen their relationship with the launch of an accountable care program dedicating more resources to care coordination, making it easier to share important health information.

Through the expanded collaboration, Mission Health Partners and UnitedHealthcare will focus their efforts to improve care coordination for patients by using shared technology, timely data and information about emergency room visits and hospital admissions. The collaboration will also secure support services to help patients manage their chronic health conditions, such as enhancing relationships with their primary care physicians and encouraging healthy lifestyles. As a result, Mission Health Partners hospitals and local providers will further strengthen the care delivery model to that of a value-based, patient-centric care model focused on keeping people healthy.

“Mission Health Partners is an important provider of health care services, and this new relationship helps provide the foundation for collaboration which will help those in North Carolina receive quality, affordable care,” said Charles Russo, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement in North Carolina.

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 180,000 Medicare Advantage members and nearly 1.3 million people in North Carolina in total, with a network of 140 hospitals and more than 28,000 physicians and other care providers statewide.

About Mission Health Partners
Mission Health Partners (MHP) is a clinically-integrated, patient-centric and physician-governed network of clinicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers, working collaboratively in an evidence-based manner to improve patient care and experience, decrease cost and ultimately drive positive changes in the health and well-being of the residents of western North Carolina.

MHP is among one of the largest ACOs in the country, covering 47,000 Medicare beneficiaries. MHP also covers 18,000 lives through the Mission Health employee benefits plan and some 8,200 patients attributed through Medicare Advantage plans. We are currently accountable for the cost and quality of care for roughly nine percent of western North Carolina. For more information, please visit missionhealthpartners.org.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.