At Evernorth, we are committed to transforming how care is accessed, delivered and coordinated to drive better health outcomes and affordability for our clients and customers. Core to this approach is influencing how patients access care and connect to the highest quality physicians and medications – with a focus on value.
Guided by this strategy, Evernorth is entering into a multi-year strategic collaboration with, and making an investment in, VillageMD, one of the largest independent primary care groups in the U.S. with expertise in value-based care. VillageMD operates more than 250 primary care practices across 22 markets.
With this collaboration, Evernorth will create a value-based care model – one that allows patients to move seamlessly between virtual, digital, and in-person physicians – which has the potential to be a game-changer for all of us. It will help reduce health care costs and make sure patients receive the appropriate care, in the most optimal setting, and at the right time.
“Together with VillageMD, we intend to create a value-based care model with access to networks of quality primary care physicians and specialists – wrapped with Evernorth’s suite of health services – to unlock additional value for our clients and customers,” said Eric Palmer, CEO of Evernorth.
As part of this collaboration, Evernorth will bring our suite of health services to VillageMD’s physicians and patients, including dedicated pathways to specialty care capabilities such as chronic condition management and our best-in-class network of behavioral physicians. VillageMD’s physicians will also benefit from Evernorth’s real-time data and clinical insights at the point of diagnosis to help them determine the optimal treatment paths. The patients we mutually serve will also benefit from MDLIVE’s virtual urgent, behavioral, dermatology and primary care services – enhancing the care they receive at VillageMD, and reducing any unnecessary burden on VillageMD physicians for health issues that can be addressed virtually.
“From where we sit at the intersection of physicians, payers, pharmacies and patients, Evernorth has unparalleled insights on each patient’s health care journey,” Palmer explained. “This data helps us to support patients at critical moments of care.”
For example, we can track medication use and refill patterns against pre-identified gaps in care, and use those insights to provide support or recommendations, which can reduce emergency room visits and unnecessary costs – all while improving the health and well-being of those we serve. In addition, we can further complement in-person and virtual primary care with access to high-performing specialists to drive the right actions and level of care – which lower costs and enables physicians to better manage chronic conditions across the entire episode.
“By partnering with innovators across the health care ecosystem and connecting them with our best-in-class solutions, we can deliver more value to more people,” Palmer said. "Our combined reach with VillageMD will not only further our ability to create better outcomes and drive meaningful affordability, it will also advance our shared goal of delivering precise, value-based and personalized care at scale.”