Sutter Health and Aetna to Establish New Health Plan in Northern California

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--()--Sutter Health, a not-for-profit health care system in Northern California, and Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced plans to launch a jointly owned health plan. This new collaboration, the first of its kind in Northern California, will bring together Sutter Health’s network of nationally recognized, high-quality doctors and hospitals with Aetna’s leading health plan expertise, cutting-edge data, analytics and health information technology, and shared care management capabilities.

This joint venture will deliver a differentiated, personalized experience for members and is designed to help lower the cost of care, resulting in competitively priced products. Sutter Health and Aetna anticipate offering self-insured commercial products starting mid-2018 in the greater Sacramento, Central Valley and Bay Area communities, as well as fully insured PPO products to follow in early 2019, pending regulatory approval.

This new company will complement Sutter Health’s and Aetna’s current products by providing more choices to Northern California’s commercially and self-insured populations.

By equally sharing ownership and accountability, Sutter Health and Aetna aim to integrate the continuum of care delivery, from wellness to disease management, care coordination, and access. The joint venture will also streamline administrative services for members.

This new approach to care management will focus on enhancing member engagement through combined data analytics that identify at-risk patients sooner and provides them with earlier access to care by expanding access to alternative sites of care, and using advanced population health technology to help members better manage chronic and other health conditions.

“We are excited to partner with Sutter Health on this joint venture,” said Mike Bahr, Aetna’s senior vice president of local markets and territories. “With Sutter Health, we believe we have found a strong partner that shares our vision to transform health care in Northern California by providing members with a simpler, more personal experience.”

Through this new relationship, Sutter Health and Aetna will work together to integrate health care and insurance coverage that provides members with the services they need as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“Patients benefit when providers and health plans share resources and work together,” says Phil Jackson, Sutter Health’s CEO of Health Plan Products. “Our Sutter Health and Aetna insurance product offerings will provide employers with new self-funded and fully insured PPO options in Northern California.”

Currently, Sutter Health-affiliated providers care for more than three million Northern California residents. Aetna provides health care benefits to approximately 415,000 members in Northern California.

Aetna projects to have at least 75 percent of its claim payments in value-based models by 2020.

About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 44.9 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com and learn about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world. @AetnaNews

About Sutter Health
Sutter Health is a nationally recognized leader in health care for quality outcomes, exceptional patient care and safety and was named one of the top performing health systems in the country by Truven in 2016. Rooted in Sutter Health’s not-for-profit mission, these team members partner to deliver exceptional care that feels personal. From physician offices to hospitals to outpatient care centers and home services, they proudly support and learn from the more than 3 million people in their care—nearly 1 percent of the U.S. population, in one of the most diverse and innovative regions in the world. Sutter pioneers adopt new technologies, make novel discoveries and embrace creative thinking to help patients and communities achieve their best health. From its street nurse program that provides check-ups for homeless people, to telemedicine-aided specialist consultations, to walk-in care clinics, to smart glass technology, the Sutter Health team goes beyond traditional models to make care more convenient and to nurture and empower people throughout their medical journey.

Contacts

Sutter Health
Sy Neilson, 916-292-0666
neilsor@sutterhealth.org
or
Aetna
Anjie Coplin, 214-200-8056
coplina@aetna.com

Release Summary

Sutter Health and Aetna today announced plans to launch a jointly owned health plan in Northern California.

Contacts

Sutter Health
Sy Neilson, 916-292-0666
neilsor@sutterhealth.org
or
Aetna
Anjie Coplin, 214-200-8056
coplina@aetna.com