EmblemHealth, one of the largest nonprofit health plans, serves 3.1 million people who live and work across the New York tristate area, joined Northwell Health in announcing a new agreement that moves away from fee-for-service medicine to a collaborative care approach that builds upon the more than 20 year relationship between the organizations.

Enhancing the strong integrated care relationship previously established with Northwell to improve the health of Emblem's members, the new agreement represents another bold step New York health care leaders are taking to approach population health management with the development of care collaboration initiatives, value-based contracts, and as the partnership moves forward, shared-risk arrangements.

"As a New York State leader on innovative value-based relationships, EmblemHealth is proud to partner with Northwell to drive greater access to the high-quality care our members receive," said Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of EmblemHealth. "Integrated care management is one of the most effective tools to improve the overall well-being of patients and deliver effective care."

Under this agreement, the parties will look preferentially to one another to manage patient access, cost of care, and better outcomes.  The partnership has already shown tangible progress; emergency room admissions have been reduced by nearly 10 per cent in locations where the two organizations have fully collaborated.

"Both organizations have built our capabilities in tandem helping each other improve on the promise of integrating and coordinating care across a continuum," said Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health. "We've created a synergy where we add value to each other on behalf of the patients we both serve. During this time of market volatility, it's great to have a long standing relationship with Emblem that continues to add value to all the stakeholders – especially to the patients in need of coordinated, accessible, and affordable health services."

EmblemHealth and Northwell are continuing to build on the innovative delivery system they initially created, providing care that is tailored to the needs of New Yorkers and that supports quality health outcomes and medical cost reductions in both outpatient and hospital settings.

Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) is New York State's largest health care provider and private employer. With 21 hospitals and nearly 450 outpatient practices, we serve more than 1.8 million people annually in the metro New York area and beyond.