Bright Health Announces Ohio Expansion in 2020 Including a New Collaboration with University Hospitals

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Bright Health announced it has partnered with University Hospitals to offer Medicare Advantage plans to residents of the Cleveland and Akron areas in 2020. The company will also continue offering Medicare Advantage plans in Cincinnati, Toledo, Springfield, and Youngstown through its partnership with Mercy Health and will expand that partnership into six counties in the Lima area. Bright Health has received regulatory approval from the Ohio Department of Insurance and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer health plans during this fall's Medicare Annual Election period, which begins on October 15th.

Bright Health's model features proprietary Care Partner Networks developed specifically for Ohio residents based on several criteria, including comprehensive care across specialties, geographic reach, quality of care and operational efficiency. Working in close collaboration with doctors in its Care Partner Network, Bright Health is able to engage proactively with members, including those with high-risk or chronic conditions, to improve health outcomes and reduce costs through coordinated, in-network care. For Bright Health members, this translates into a more personalized and affordable patient experience, including:

• Lower out-of-pocket costs¹
• Fewer readmissions² and emergency room visits³
• A reduction in duplicate testing⁴
• Referral-free specialist visits

Bright Health's pricing on Medicare Advantage plans is competitive, with $0 premium plans available in all Ohio markets.⁵

"At Bright Health, we believe the foundation of good healthcare is a strong relationship between people and their doctors," said Bob Sheehy, Bright Health's co-founder and chief executive officer. "By working hand-in-hand with physicians in our Care Partner Networks, we have removed the friction that typically exists between insurance companies and healthcare providers, so our members can focus on what really matters—their health."

Through Bright Health's partnership with University Hospitals, one of the nation's leading healthcare systems, members in the Cleveland-Akron area can take advantage of more than 17 hospitals, 380 primary care physicians and 2,000 specialists. Members in Cincinnati, Toledo, Youngstown, Springfield and now Lima will continue to have access to Bright Health's extensive Care Partner Network with Mercy Health.

Many Bright Health Medicare Advantage plans also include additional benefits, such as:

• $0 PCP copay
• Low or $0 Part D deductible
• Over-the-counter debit card⁶
• Transportation benefits⁷
• Comprehensive dental, vision and hearing benefits⁸

"University Hospitals is committed to creating new models that improve health care value," said Mark Schario, Vice President, Population Health at University Hospitals. "Working with Bright Health provides us with the opportunity to use our experience as a leader with one of the largest Accountable Care Organizations in the nation to develop ways of keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital as they age, while lowering costs. Our goal is to change the health care narrative by emphasizing efforts that help people 'stay healthy at home' versus only 'healing patients in a hospital.'"

Bright Health plans will be available to Ohio residents in qualifying counties via the website, BrightHealthplan.com, call center, broker partners and at Medicare.gov.

Ohio Bright Health Medicare Advantage Coverage

About Bright Health
Bright Health is a consumer-focused health insurance and technology company. Through its collaborative Health Plan Care Partner Model in local communities and unique intelligence capabilities, Bright Health Plan is reshaping how people and care providers achieve better health together by making healthcare simpler, more affordable and personal. Bright Health Plan currently offers a range of individual, family and Medicare Advantage plans in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, New York, Ohio and Tennessee via its website, call center, broker partners and through government websites as well as public health insurance exchanges. Bright Health plans will also be available in Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina for 2020. Learn more at www.brighthealthplan.com.

About University Hospitals / Cleveland, Ohio
Founded in 1866, University Hospitals serves the needs of patients through an integrated network of 18 hospitals, more than 50 health centers and outpatient facilities, and 200 physician offices in 16 counties throughout northern Ohio. The system's flagship academic medical center, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, located in Cleveland's University Circle, is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. The main campus also includes University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital, ranked among the top children's hospitals in the nation; University Hospitals MacDonald Women's Hospital, Ohio's only hospital for women; University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, a high-volume national referral center for complex cardiovascular procedures; and University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, part of the NCI-designated Case Comprehensive Cancer Center. UH is home to some of the most prestigious clinical and research programs in the nation, including cancer, pediatrics, women's health, orthopedics, radiology, neuroscience, cardiology and cardiovascular surgery, digestive health, transplantation and urology. UH Cleveland Medical Center is perennially among the highest performers in national ranking surveys, including "America's Best Hospitals" from U.S. News & World Report. UH is also home to Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals – part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development. UH is one of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio with 28,000 physicians and employees.  Advancing the Science of Health and the Art of Compassion is UH's vision for benefitting its patients into the future, and the organization's unwavering mission is To Heal. To Teach. To Discover. Follow UH on Facebook @UniversityHospitals and Twitter @UHhospitals. For more information, visit UHhospitals.org.

Mercy Health
Mercy Health is part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, one of the top 20 health systems in the United States and part of the top performing quartile of Catholic health systems for lowest cost per case for patient care. Mercy Health is the largest health system in Ohio and among the top five employers in the state, with more than 33,500 associates serving communities throughout Ohio and Kentucky. The system includes assets of $6.8 billion and nearly 500 care facilities including 23 hospitals and 26 post-acute care facilities including senior living communities, hospice programs and home health agencies. Its clinically integrated network of 3,000 health care providers coordinates more effective and efficient care for more than 350,000 patients, saving money for taxpayers through the Medicare Shared Savings Program. As part of Bon Secours Mercy Health, the ministry provides nearly $2 million per day in community benefit.

¹ In 2017, redirection and repatriation resulted in in-network care that would have amounted to $2.2M of out-of-network charges billed to members.
² Based on 30-day all cause readmission rates for 2018 for Bright Health Plan MA patients as compared to CMS county level benchmarks in CO and AZ.
³ Comparison of 2018 emergency department utilization rates for Bright Health Plan members across all business lines to national utilization rates to National Center for Health Statistic data published by the CDC for [2016].
⁴ Comparing 2015 CO EPO product reimaging rates to Bright Health Plan's 2017 CO IFP reimaging rates.
⁵ All pricing is subject to final regulatory approval.
⁶ Included in some plans
⁷ Included in most plans
⁸ For plans that don't include dental and vision coverage, coverage is available for an additional monthly premium. Most plans include hearing benefits.

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SOURCE Bright Health