Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Medical Professional Services, Inc. (MPS) today announced enhancements to their longstanding Independent Practice Association agreement in Connecticut. A new contract addendum will facilitate improved care coordination and clinical quality of care for Aetna members while lowering their overall health care costs. Nearly 15,000 Aetna members covered under fully insured and self-funded plans in Connecticut who have sought care from MPS providers in the past 24 months are included in this new program with MPS.

“When physicians and health plans work together, care improves for the people we serve,” said Martha Temple, president of Aetna’s New England operations. “This new collaboration will provide MPS physicians with useful information that will support more patient outreach, better care coordination, and a health care experience that is simpler and more effective.”

Drew J. Edwards, M.D., chief medical officer of MPS, noted, “This new collaboration with Aetna is exciting because it will further the work our physicians, care coordinators and patient navigators are performing today. The collaboration will enable MPS’ network of primary care and specialist physicians to collaborate and share clinical information, and it will encourage their focus on continually improving the quality and value of care.”

Under the new collaboration agreement, Aetna will reward MPS and MPS physicians for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction via specified measures such as:

  • The percentage of Aetna members who receive recommended preventive care and screenings;
  • Better management of patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart failure;
  • Reductions in avoidable hospital readmissions;
  • Reductions in avoidable emergency room visits by improving primary care access hours and care coordination; and
  • Reductions in total pharmacy costs.

Aetna also will help defray MPS’ costs for care coordination personnel and health information technology that will benefit Aetna members. Aetna is working with health care organizations across the country to develop products and services that support value-driven, patient-centered care for all health care consumers.

About Medical Professional Services, Inc. (MPS)

Medical Professional Services, Inc. (MPS), headquartered in Middletown, is one of Connecticut’s largest statewide multi-specialty Independent Physician Associations (IPA). MPS has over 400 physician members, including primary care, medical and surgical specialists, and hospital-based physicians who are dedicated to providing exceptional medical and surgical care to residents throughout CT. MPS is an integrated network of physicians, podiatrists, dentists and midlevel practitioners dedicated to providing the Connecticut residents we serve with appropriate access to care, clinical services excellence, and the prudent use of resources. MPS was founded in 1986 and its physician members are its shareholders. Current MPS membership includes physicians in Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven Counties. MPS serves as a management, information, and clinical resource for MPS physicians. MPS is making substantial investments in health information technology to maximize the clinical integration of its physicians and their ability to improve care quality and value. MPS’ subsidiary, MPS ACO Physicians, LLC, has been an Accountable Care Organization in the Medicare Shared Savings Program since July 2012. For more information, see www.mpsphysicians.com.

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 44 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities, Medicaid health care management services, workers' compensation administrative services and health information technology products and services. Aetna's customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, health care providers, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates. For more information, see www.aetna.com.