In another bid to test out a new model of care, health insurer Cigna Corp. is launching its first accountable care program in The Garden State.
Bloomfield-based Cigna is teaming with independent physician’s organization Partners In Care to launch the collaborative effort that aims to improve care coordination and place a greater emphasis on preventive care; reward primary care doctors based on performance; and place registered nurse clinical care coordinators in physicians’ offices.
 An ACO is a variation on the patient-centered medical home model of health care that rewards primary care doctors for improved outcomes and lower medical costs.
Cigna’s program with New Jersey’s PIC is the first patient-centered accountable care program in central and northern New Jersey involving an independent physicians organization and a health plan.
The program is focused on approximately 14,000 individuals covered by a Cigna health plan who receive care from among 360 doctors at more than 160 participating physician practices.
Health insurers have been increasingly setting up ACOs with physician groups in recent years to get a better understanding of how much in savings such cooperative efforts have.
