Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey and Hackensack-Physician Hospital Alliance kick-off collaborative Accountable Care Organization

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ) and Hackensack-Physician Hospital Alliance (HackensackAlliance) ACO announced the launch of a collaborative Accountable Care Organization (ACO) agreement to improve care and patient outcomes for over 16,000 Horizon BCBSNJ members. More than 450 primary care doctors practicing at approximately 40 practice locations in Bergen County are participating in this ACO. “This ACO reflects Horizon’s continuing commitment to collaborate with providers to deliver better quality care at lower costs. We are pleased to join with the HackensackAlliance ACO in extending this innovative model of care to more than 16,000 Horizon BCBSNJ members,” said Jim Albano, Vice President of Network Management and Horizon Healthcare Innovations at Horizon BCBSNJ. “As the nation focuses its attention on providing efficient, accountable care, HackensackUMC is proud to collaborate with New Jersey’s largest health insurer,” said Morey Menacker, D.O., president of HackensackAlliance ACO. “Working together, we can improve the quality of care delivered to thousands of patients by coordinating care and controlling costs. We look forward to a successful collaboration with Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey.” ACOs are built on a strong primary care foundation. Participating physician groups help create a healthier patient population through a coordinated, accountable approach to care among providers within the ACO. Accountable Care Organizations are designed to achieve measured patient quality outcomes and decrease unnecessary and duplicative medical tests and treatments. Under this ACO agreement, Horizon BCBSNJ will provide care coordination payments to the ACO to take on additional accountability for improving the health and patient experience as well as controlling the cost of care for its Horizon BCBSNJ patients. The ACO and its affiliated practices, provided the ACO meets certain health improvement, patient satisfaction and cost goals, have an opportunity to share in the resulting financial savings with Horizon BCBSNJ. Horizon BCBSNJ has a number of Patient-Centered Programs, including Accountable Care Organizations, Patient-Centered Medical Homes, and programs focused on different Episodes of Care (i.e. joint replacement, pregnancy). More than 500,000 Horizon BCBSNJ members are now benefiting from Horizon BCBSNJ’s Patient-Centered Programs that are working to improve patient care while controlling costs. About Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the state’s oldest and largest health insurer, is a tax-paying, not-for-profit health services corporation, providing a wide array of medical, dental, and prescription insurance products and services. Horizon BCBSNJ is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, serving 3.7 million members with headquarters in Newark and offices in Wall, Mt. Laurel, and West Trenton. Learn more at www.HorizonBlue.com. About HackensackAlliance ACO In 2012, the HackensackAlliance ACO was one of just 27 ACOs selected by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Today, the HackensackAlliance ACO has 575 affiliated physicians covering more than 13,000 lives with an estimated cost savings of $10 million. It was also the first ACO in New Jersey and one of seven in the nation to receive Level One Accreditation status from the National Committee on Quality Assurance. About Hackensack University Medical Center HackensackUMC, a nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, NJ, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. Founded in 1888 as the county’s first hospital, it is the flagship hospital of Hackensack University Health Network, one of the largest health networks in the state comprised of 1,140 beds, nearly 10,000 employees and 2,200 credentialed physicians. HackensackUMC was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey and one of the top three New York metro area hospitals in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospital rankings for 2013-14. It also received 10 national rankings in: Cancer; Cardiology & Heart Surgery; Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology & GI Surgery; Geriatrics; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Pulmonology; Urology; and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital ranked as one of the Top 50 Best Children’s Hospitals for Neurology and Neurosurgery in the 2013-14 Best Children’s Hospitals list. The children’s hospital is housed with the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital in the Sarkis and Siran Gabrellian Women’s and Children’s Pavilion, which was designed with The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center using the highest “green building” standards, and was included on the Green Guide’s list of Top 10 Green Hospitals in the U.S. HackensackUMC is among Healthgrades® America’s Best 100 Hospitals in five different areas – more than any other hospital in the state, is one of Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals™ for eight years in a row, and received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ 12 years in a row. The medical center has also been named a Leapfrog Top Hospital, and received 23 Gold Seals of Approval™ by the Joint Commission – more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence; receiving its fifth consecutive designation in 2014. HackensackUMC is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls, and remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events. To learn more, visit: www.HackensackUMC.org.