New Blue Distinction^® Total Care program to include Blue Cross patient-centered medical home providers

In previous Record articles, we’ve discussed the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association’s Blue Distinction^® Specialty Care Program, which focuses on delivering health care quality and value. In January 2015, the Association will formally launch the Blue Distinction^® Total Care program nationwide.

This new program, also known BDTC, will make value-based programs available in 35 states and 40 of the top 50 metropolitan statistical areas in the U.S. It will allow multistate employers to use locally tailored Blue programs designed to help improve patients’ health while managing costs.

BDTC programs are custom-designed to meet local market needs. But they also are required to meet nationally consistent standards set by the Association in these four impact-driven categories:

• Value-based reimbursement
• Accountability across the care continuum
• Patient-centered quality care
• Provider empowerment

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan’s Patient-Centered Medical Home program and accountable care organizations meet these criteria for patient-centered, value-based care. As a result, national account members and their families will have access to these high-quality providers throughout the state of Michigan through the BDTC program.

Providers participating in BDTC are responsible for managing the patient care of a high-risk population, so Blue plans will equip them with the necessary information and resources. Blue plans use a combination of proprietary tools and best-in-class vendors to give providers the data they need to identify and close gaps in care.

The plans focus on two key areas to support providers:

• Supplying medical informatics
• Consultative support

A provider participating in the BDTC program may be located by following these steps:

• Go to bcbsa.com.
• Click on the Find a Doctor or Hospital tab at the top of the homepage. The search criteria will appear as indicated below.
• To find a specific provider, enter the required information in the “Search by” field. Or, for a list of BDTC providers, complete the location fields.

Once the initial search criteria are entered, users can either click on the Go button or click on Add Filter to see various links as indicated below. Use the Add Filter search function to customize your search results of BDTC providers.

To view a complete list of BDTC providers:

• Go to bcbsa.com.
• Click on the Find a Doctor or Hospital tab.
• Click on Add Filter.
• Click on Blue Distinction.
• Click on Blue Distinction Total Care in the drop-down menu (as shown above).
• Click on Select.
• Click on the Go button.

For more information, contact your provider consultant.