Salt Lake City, UT -- (ReleaseWire) -- 06/09/2021 --The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has contracted with Castell, Intermountain Healthcare's population health company, as one of the value care organizations participating in the state's Medicaid Healthy Connections Value Care (HCVC) program.

Beginning July 1, the program aims to improve health outcomes for Medicaid patients in Idaho, while providing more cost-effective care. Under this population health model, value care organizations will be accountable for improving the quality of care while managing costs and bearing financial risk for exceeding budget targets.

Value care organizations participating in the state's HCVC program are evaluated on seven quality measures, including targets for diabetes testing, breast cancer screenings, primary care visits for infants, children and adolescents, emergency department visits, and acute inpatient readmissions. In exchange for working with providers to meet quality and budget targets, value care organizations will be able to share in cost savings.

"Castell and Intermountain are committed to improving value-based care across all groups in the places it provides care. Castell's model is built to support medical groups in effectively helping their patients get care when and where it's needed," said Nick Bassett, Castell's vice president of population health services. "Medicaid has been a significant part of that strategy in Utah and we are excited to continue this growth in Idaho. We look forward to our partnership with various groups across Idaho and partnering with the state to improve the care for this important group of patients."

"Castell looks forward to partnering with Idaho Medicaid in its innovative Healthy Connections Value Care program," Eric Cragun, executive director of government programs for Castell said. "We are excited to support healthcare providers and their patients with cutting-edge analytics, care coordination, and connections to resources that can help address social determinants of health."

Castell was created in 2019 with the mission to accelerate providers' ability to transition from volume-based to value-based systems of care while making healthcare more affordable.

Castell's value care organizations brings together seven providers in its latest initiative to help healthcare providers across Idaho and Utah provide healthcare with greater quality, affordability, and improved experience.

These partners include the Cassia, ID and northern Utah regions of Intermountain Healthcare; Primary Care Pediatrics, Logan, UT; Saltzer Health, an Intermountain Healthcare company in southwest Idaho; Bingham Memorial Hospital, Blackfoot ID; and Dr. Bernard R. Boehmer and Dr. Walter M. Graham, Burley, ID.

About Intermountain Healthcare
Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system of 25 hospitals, 225 clinics, a Medical Group with 2,600 employed physicians and advanced practice clinicians, a health insurance company called SelectHealth, and other health services in Idaho, Utah and Nevada. Intermountain is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes and sustainable costs.

About Castell
Castell is a comprehensive health platform company that makes the move to value-based care simple for providers, payers, health systems, and accountable care organizations. Castell delivers impactful analytic and service solutions designed to accelerate organizations' transition from volume to value, improve outcomes, and keep costs more affordable. Castell is an Intermountain Healthcare company. For more information, visit www.castellhealth.com