It has been about eight months since Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana kicked off its HealthSync Designated Orthopedic Network, directing Anthem HealthSync plan members to surgeons and facilities that satisfy certain cost and quality benchmarks.
Now, savings are rolling in.
In an upcoming episode of the “Becker’s Payer Issues Podcast,” Jessica Lopez-Liggett, commercial state plan president for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Indiana, filled Becker’s in on how the efforts have been progressing.
The early groundwork for the network was laid out in 2023, Ms. Lopez-Liggett said. Having worked at Elevance Health prior to her commercial state plan president role, she had been involved since the start.
Employers’ member data indicated knee and hip issues as top conditions, prompting Anthem BCBS Indiana to explore provider partnerships in the orthopedic space.
After meeting quality metrics, Indianapolis-based OrthoIndy and Franciscan Health’s Forté Sports Medicine and Orthopedics signed onto the network. On Aug. 6, Central Indiana Orthopedics confirmed it had also joined the network July 1. The designated network program features high-quality, lower-cost providers, as well as concierge navigation with scheduling and post-surgical follow-up services.
Ms. Lopez-Liggett’s team anticipated up to a 50% cost reduction for those procedures with the centers of excellence. She recently told Becker’s, through the HealthSync network, employers are seeing early savings of roughly $15,000 per orthopedic case.
Ms. Lopez-Liggett previously said the HealthSync network covered about 200,000 members across several large Indiana employers. She also hinted at similar initiatives in the pipeline.
“This is just the first lever that we’ll be pulling,” she had said. “There will be more to come.”
Ms. Lopez-Liggett shared that Anthem BCBS Indiana is now looking to expand to gastrointestinal and cardiac services next, as well as some elective procedures, like colonoscopies.
“We want to continue to expand that because of the early successes that we’re already seeing,” she said.
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