Provider-Sponsored Carriers
By Theresa Fitzgerald and Kate Morgan
A new trend in the provision and financing of health care is the
forming of health carriers by health systems and provider groups.
This trend follows the emphasis on managing health care with better
quality and decreased costs under the Affordable Care Act, and
provider reimbursement increasingly linked to cost-effectiveness
and quality rather than simply the volume of services delivered.
Methods such as accountable care organizations and bundled payments
are also creating incentives for provider systems to manage the
entire process of care, including insurance.
In 2014 for example, North Shore-LIJ CareConnect became the
first provider-owned health plan in New York to offer health
insurance on the state's health insurance exchange. Similarly,
Premier Health recently acquired a state insurance license in Ohio
and has expanded from offering coverage to its own employees and
their dependents to
