Phoenix-based Banner Health and Aetna agreed to a long-term extension of their joint venture partnership, the organizations said Feb. 3.
Banner and Aetna launched their joint venture health plan, called Banner | Aetna, four years ago. To date, the health plan has 350,000 members. Banner | Aetna has also seen average cost savings of 8 to 14 percent when compared to Aetna's broad network plans.
In the coming year, Banner | Aetna will focus on several initiatives, including generating more savings through specialty medicine management services, delegating more utilization management responsibilities to Banner and automating prior authorizations. The health plan also will add CVS Health MinuteClinic locations to its network.