Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia and VillageMD, a national provider of primary care, announced that they have entered into an agreement on a value-based contract that will lead to higher quality, more affordable patient care across the state. BCBSGa is the largest health benefits company in Georgia and the first to contract with VillageMD in Georgia.

VillageMD recently expanded into the state in collaboration with Quality Care Providers, Inc., Atlanta’s largest independent network of primary care physicians with 1,600 members. BCBSGA policyholders will greatly benefit from this collaboration.

“Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia is dedicated to helping physicians improve care and manage costs,” said Jeff Fusile, President of BCBSGa. “The physician-led, team-based approach of VillageMD complements our efforts in providing top quality, affordable health care to our members. This collaboration is a win-win for our members and providers, and is the first of several alliances BCBSGa plans to enter to support primary care physicians in our community,” Fusile added.

VillageMD’s high-value model of care is proven to drive results across multiple markets and across all patient populations – commercial, Medicare, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid. Practices that have adopted VillageMD’s patient-centric approach have been recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for high quality and high performance metrics, such as the following: admissions and readmissions rates 20 to 45 percent lower than the community, Medicare costs 20 to 45 percent lower than the community, and commercial costs 15 to 20 percent lower than the community.

“We are excited to partner with BCBSGa to offer physicians a high-value care model that emphasizes a preventative, cost-effective delivery approach that benefits patients and providers,” said Tim Barry, Chief Executive Officer, VillageMD. “Aligning health plans and physicians helps physicians keep their patients as healthy as possible, and the VillageMD team is committed to providing the resources, tools and technology they need to achieve this goal.”

VillageMD’s recent expansion into Georgia contributes to its rapid growth into one of the largest networks of independent primary care providers in the U.S.