OptumCare, including Surgical Care Affiliates, plans to grow toward more consumer-centric care and risk-based contracting in the future, said OptumHealth's CEO Andrew Hayek during the first quarter conference call on April 17.
Here are five key trends from the call, as transcribed by Seeking Alpha.
1. OptumCare aims to cover 75 markets in the U.S. with a more consumer-centric care model. "As you know, we're positioned to be the leading high-value medical group and ambulatory care organization in the country with the ambition to serve 75 markets," said Mr. Hayek. "And we're enabling this transition to value-oriented and more consumer-centric care."
2. The company aims to use Optum's capabilities to promote evidence-based medicine and improve the consumer experience. "[Net Promoter Scores] approach 80. In our MedExpress and SCA sites, they're averaging a similar range, so very, very strong consumer experience," said Mr. Hayek.
3. Partnerships are on the horizon. "With OptumCare, we're partnering with medical groups who really embrace the transition to value. That's why they choose to partner with us," said Mr. Hayek. "And many of them are starting in traditional fee-for-service markets with that kind of current fee construct and they want to migrate toward value-oriented care."
4. There is progress toward risk-based contracting and value-based care shift. The company works with multiple payers across the country to shift fee-for-service to value-based care. "And then we also tend to focus on how we get into deep risk, especially in the senior area where we can be a very collaborative partner with Medicare Advantage plans and drive great value," said Mr. Hayek. "The transition really depends on the starting point, but it inevitably involves a few years, sometimes longer."
5. There is a tie between high quality and low cost. "We see outstanding quality in terms of stars and HEDIS," said Mr. Hayek. "We see outstanding Net Promoter Scores and then we see lower medical cost trends. And those results accelerate the further we get into risk."