Aetna, Alegent Creighton Health and UniNet Create Patient-Centric Health Care Network in Omaha

Aetna (NYSE: AET), Alegent Creighton Health and its provider-led clinically integrated network, UniNet today announced a new collaboration that will offer self-insured employers low-priced, high-quality health care for their employees and their families.

The new product, called Alegent Creighton Affiliated Network powered by Aetna is being sold now with a January 1, 2015 effective date.

Aetna members in Douglas, Sarpy and Pottawattamie counties will have access to the more than 2,000 physicians and specialists who are part of UniNet as well as the 11 hospitals in the Alegent Creighton Health system. In the value-based care model, a team of Alegent/UniNet medical professionals will be dedicated to keeping each Aetna member healthy through coordinated care rather than just looking after them when they are sick.

“Consumers belong at the center of a health care system that promotes wellness, provides better care for chronic conditions and uses economic incentives to reward positive health outcomes,” said Dale Mackel, president of Aetna’s Nebraska operations. “When physicians and health plans work together, care improves for the people we serve. This new collaboration will provide Alegent Creighton Health and its UniNet physicians with useful information that will support more patient outreach, better care coordination and a health care experience that is simpler and more effective.”

When choosing the Alegent Creighton Affiliated Network powered by Aetna health plan, employers and members can expect:

• Personalized care, education and engagement for patients;
• Collaboration of physicians, hospitals and ancillary providers throughout the entire continuum of care;
• Shared accountability among physicians for care coordination; and
• Easy-to-navigate plan features.

Employers and members of the Alegent Creighton Affiliated Network powered by Aetna plan also have access to a robust suite of resources and online tools that can help improve health and well-being, and save time and money, while making more informed health care choices with their Alegent Creighton provider.

“We are happy to have found a great partner in Aetna,” said Cliff Robertson, CEO of Alegent Creighton Health/CHI Nebraska. “It has been refreshing to work with an insurance company that is willing to stand alongside us as we proceed on the journey to provide higher quality care at lower cost. This new agreement benefits everyone involved, especially our patients.”

About Aetna

Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving an estimated 45 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 and the 2014 Aetna story about how Aetna is helping to build a healthier world.

About Alegent Creighton Health

Alegent Creighton Health and the Catholic Health Initiatives organizations in Nebraska are integrating to create single, regional health network with a unified mission: nurturing the healing ministry of the Church while creating healthier communities. Headquartered in Omaha, the combined organization will consist of 16 hospitals, two stand-alone behavioral health facilities and more than 150 employed physician practice locations in Nebraska and southwestern Iowa. Nearly 15,900 employees comprise the workforce of this network that includes 2,820 licensed beds and serves as the primary teaching partner of Creighton University’s health sciences schools. In fiscal year 2013, the organization provided a combined $130.7 million in quantified community benefit including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With locations stretching from Kearney, Neb. to Missouri Valley, Iowa, the health network is the largest in Nebraska and serves residents of Nebraska, southwest Iowa and northern Kansas.

About UniNet

UniNet is a physician-driven, clinically integrated network bringing together providers from across the state of Nebraska and western Iowa who are dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of the communities we serve. UniNet has been in the Omaha area since 1998 and currently represents more than 2,200 independent and employed providers, 28 hospitals, affiliated ancillaries and skilled nursing facilities. UniNet builds on the successes and strengths of Alegent Creighton Health, CHI Nebraska, and affiliated providers to improve patient health, enhance efficiency and succeed in today’s changing health care payment and delivery environments.