CCHN - Chautauqua Integrated Delivery System

Chautauqua Integrated Delivery System

County residents on Medicare who have supplemental insurance continue to see their out-of-pocket medical expenses increasing to levels that are unaffordable. The federal government has been promoting managed care to those on Medicare, but the financial and administrative burden on health care providers has been severe and the health maintenance organizations have had little experience in Chautauqua County or other rural counties.

In response, the CCHN launched a partnership of physicians and hospitals in the county and formed the Chautauqua Integrated Delivery System IPA, LLC (IDS). Currently, over one hundred physicians, Brooks Memorial and WCA Hospitals are members of the Chautauqua IDS. The Chautauqua IDS has completed two successful years in a partnership with Univera Healthcare, a health maintenance organization based in Buffalo, and its Medicare managed care plan, SeniorChoice. Crucial to the Chautauqua IDS's partnership with Univera is local control of the use of medical services. The Chautauqua IDS staff has also served an important role as advocates of member physicians and hospitals to Univera.

This SeniorChoice program has provided quality care to nearly 2,000 Chautauqua County seniors and saved them millions of dollars in Medicare supplemental premiums. At the same time, the Chautauqua IDS achieved a financial surplus in both 1998 and 1999. As a result, the Chautauqua IDS Board of Directors has authorized a task force to look at the possible expansion into the commercial health insurance market.