AllWays Health Partners and Your 2019 Health Plan Choices

Did you hear? Partners HealthCare employee health plans will be administered by AllWays Health Partners in 2019.

You’ll still have the same choice between two health plans: Partners Select and Partners Plus. The only difference is AllWays Health Partners will administer the plans rather than Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Who is AllWays Health Partners?

Partners-owned Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP) will become AllWays Health Partners as of January 1, 2019. NHP is evolving its brand to emphasize the organization’s continued commitment to all of its customers across multiple business lines, with a focus on accelerating commercial growth.

Tim Walsh, NHP’s Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, said NHP is transforming to AllWays Health Partners to signify this change in focus. He said AllWays’ brand promise involves listening to and partnering with members, as well as providers, brokers and employer customers.

“As a health plan that’s a member of the leading provider system in the region, we have a unique opportunity to collaborate more and together disrupt the status quo,” Walsh said.

AllWays' position in the Partners family will boost the insurers' ability to deliver innovative products and improve care access and health outcomes, he said.

For Partners, the move to AllWays gives the organization more control over employee health plan design and costs. Partners is looking to provide better access to care, improve customer service and reduce administrative burden of providers. Along with all of this will be an economic benefit of $10-$15 million for the system as a whole.

Rose Sheehan, Chief Human Resources Officer for Partners HealthCare, said the decision was made to invest a portion of that benefit in employees, by increasing wellness offerings, telehealth and lower co-pays.

“We’ll be able to improve and add to that over time. Our first step is going to be basic wellness programs, but our goal is to provide more wellness programs over time,” Sheehan said.

What does this mean for you?

Sheehan said it is Partners HealthCare’s goal for a seamless change to AllWays Health Partners on January 1, 2019. She said she wants employees to experience no disruptions when they visit their doctors next year.

The design of the Partners Select and Partners Plus health plans will remain the same in 2019, except for lower co-pays for adult primary care, pediatric, behavioral health and substance use disorder office visits. The plans will remain self-funded, so Partners will continue to decide on covered services and prices.

Here are some things to look forward to in 2019:

• Exclusive access to Partners HealthCare on Demand. The 24/7 online urgent care service will provide secure, interactive video visits with Partners HealthCare providers in Massachusetts. Employees outside of Massachusetts will get similar services from Teladoc. These telehealth solutions will offer diagnoses for non-emergency care, prescribe medications and send prescriptions directly to pharmacies.
• Expanded wellness programs for employees. The programs include a wellness platform through Welltok called Café The platform will provide health and wellness assessments with a personalized report and free healthy living programs, such as webinars, videos, a health library, blogs and online communities.
• Fewer prior authorizations for care received within the Partners system, which means faster service for patients and fewer administrative headaches for providers.

Partners HR and AllWays Health Partners will share more information on these unique benefits this fall.  If you have questions about the 2019 health plans, visit www.AskMyHRportal.com and click on the red bar at the top of the page. You also can contact the HR Support Center by submitting an online request or calling 1-833-Ask-MyHR (1-833-275-6947).