MercyOne and Genesis Health System recently announced that they have entered an agreement for Genesis to join MercyOne’s Partnered Provider Network. The partnership was developed to pursue collaboration opportunities, the health systems said. 

The multiyear agreement will focus on leveraging the joint expertise in population health and expand value-based health care through their respective regions, MercyOne and Genesis said in a joint statement. Based in Davenport, Genesis serves a 17-county, bi-state region of the Quad Cities metropolitan area and the surrounding communities of Iowa and Illinois. 

“Our organizations share a deep commitment to the health of our members, the communities we serve and furthering value-based care,” said Derek Novak, president of MercyOne Population Health Services Organization, a unit of Des Moines-based MercyOne. “By combining our strengths in population health and geographies served, we are uniquely positioned to improve health in our communities and reduce the total cost of care. We look forward to working together to improve outcomes for those we are privileged to serve.”

Founded in 2012, MercyOne PHSO was created to leverage the organization’s experience in population health to expand into commercial and governmental value/risk-based programs. Its portfolio has since grown to more than 20 value-based agreements covering over 315,000 attributed patients throughout Iowa and neighboring states.

Since inception, MercyOne PHSO’s Partnered Provider Network estimates it has reduced health care expenditures for Iowans by more than $145 million by working together to improve health, increase patient satisfaction and lower health care costs, according to its website. 

The MercyOne Population Health Services Organization Partnered Provider Network is branded as Incirca Health Network. The MercyOne and Genesis partnership will be known as “Incirca Health Network powered by MercyOne and Genesis Health.” 

I connected with Derek Novak via Zoom to learn more about the collaboration. 

How many patients does this bring together under Incirca Health Network?  

Today under MercyOne [PHSO] we have right around 330,000 covered lives — that’s the number of arrangements under Medicaid, commercial insurance, Medicaid Advantage — really, any product segment of insurance. Genesis, given the newness of the arrangement, we haven’t gotten into specifics around what they hold for [health insurance] risk contracts, but they have a sizable population they’re working with in the Quad Cities market, in the neighborhood of 70,000 to 100,000 lives. Our arrangement is not necessarily to disrupt existing contracts, but rather to look for areas where we can partner and bring incremental value to those patient populations. 

What are some of the most common or likely areas that will be looked at for collaboration? 

Really, one of the unique components of MercyOne PHSO is that we’ve gone through an accreditation process for our case management and population services that we provide. So we are one of the very few [National Committee for Quality Assurance]-accredited organizations in the U.S. that’s not a payer. But we’ve actually gone through a process similar to what a payer has. … So we see that as a key collaborative opportunity to extend those standards … where it makes sense for both organizations for a more robust network in coordination of care across the geography. 

There is really a different level of collaboration that occurs with all value-based [insurance] brands. So we’re collaborating to look for ways to partner with those payers to reduce duplication of services, looking for members that are defined as high risk, who have multiple health conditions. That’s really where our health coaching or management comes into play. … We’re really looking to coordinate care differently and look for ways that we can reduce adverse outcomes and reduce unnecessary utilization. 

What benefits could the MercyOne-Genesis collaboration have for Iowa employers? 

Specific to the Genesis component, for those employers that maybe have a location in the Quad Cities market that also have a location here in the Des Moines metro, I think that represents another opportunity in the market. … Having that additional location of the Quad Cities will be beneficial for member continuity. 

Are there potential partnerships with other health systems that MercyOne is looking at next? 

I would just say that we’re always looking at opportunities to grow the network, and ultimately to provide care where Iowans reside, especially as we start talking about locations outside of the state.