Health insurer Aetna and UnityPoint Accountable Care L.C. today announced they have formed an accountable care collaboration in Iowa and in central and southern Illinois, along with a new employer health plan option that they say could save employers up to 15 percent over comparable broad-network Aetna products. 

The new commercial health care product, Aetna Whole Health — UnityPoint Accountable Care network, will provide Aetna members with coordinated care from approximately 3,400 doctors, along with 31 hospitals and 32 urgent care centers, Aetna said in a release. All participating UnityPoint physicians will be in-network, an Aetna representative said. 

The policies are currently available to fully insured and self-insured large employers in 19 Iowa counties, among them Polk, Dallas, Warren, Boone and Story counties, and will be available to customers of Aetna Funding Advantage — a self-funded plan option for small businesses — on July 1. 

UnityPoint Accountable Care was formed in 2012 and has since grown to become one of the largest accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the country. The physician-led ACO is a value-based care model that partners with insurers so that providers share the risk and potential savings generated by the network. Aetna is the most recent of at least three health plans that the ACO has contracted with. 

“Our recent efforts in network development, use of innovative models to further coordinate care, and effective use of technology all contribute to the strength of this product,” said Aric Sharp, vice president of UnityPoint Accountable Care. “We will continue to identify new opportunities for care improvement and cost savings.”

In its 2015-16 annual report, the most recent available on its website, UnityPoint Accountable Care reported that it received shared savings totaling $6.2 million from three insurers it contracts with: Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, and the UnityPoint Health Self-Insured Health Plan.  

Under the new Aetna Whole Health plan, group health care savings amounts will be specific to each employer, Aetna officials said in a statement. 

The collaboration features a new payment model to reward providers for meeting quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction measures including: 

• The percentage of Aetna members who get recommended preventive care and screenings.
• Better management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure. 
• Reductions in avoidable hospital readmission rates.
• Reductions in emergency room visits.

Aetna exited the individual market in Iowa a year ago; the insurer informed the Iowa Insurance Division in April 2017 that it would stop selling individual health policies, which led to competitor Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield also exiting the individual market in Iowa.