Health New England and Baystate Health Care Alliance LLC, which is a new accountable care organization (ACO) subsidiary of Baycare Health Partners, have formed the BeHealthy Partnership^SM to serve the Medicaid population in and around Holyoke, Northampton, Springfield and Westfield.

The BeHealthy Partnership is part of the MassHealth ACO program, and is an Accountable Care Partnership Plan (Model A). An Accountable Care Partnership Plan is a group of PCPs who have partnered exclusively with a single managed care organization (MCO) to use the MCO’s provider network that includes doctors, nurse practitioners, hospitals, and other health care providers to provide integrated and coordinated care for members. Health New England is the MCO for the BeHealthy Partnership ACO.

The BeHealthy Partnership is comprised of five Springfield-area community health centers:

• Baystate General Pediatrics at High Street
• Brightwood Health Center
• Caring Health Center (a federally qualified community health center)
• High Street Health Center Adult Medicine
• Mason Square Neighborhood Health Center

Effective March 1, 2018, the BeHealthy Partnership plan will only cover Medicaid members who live within the new service area surrounding Holyoke, Northampton, Springfield and Westfield, and have a PCP at one of the above practices. The new service area excludes most Medicaid members in Berkshire and Franklin counties.

Most existing Medicaid members at the above practices will automatically be transitioned to the BeHealthy Partnership plan, regardless if they have Health New England, the Primary Care Clinician (PCC) plan, or another MCO plan. Those who receive care from PCPs not in the ACO would need to select a PCP at one of the five health centers to be a BeHealthy Partnership member, if that is their preference. If the Medicaid member wants to keep their current PCP, they will need to enroll in another MassHealth ACO or MCO. ACO practices are not allowed to encourage non-members to sign up.

One of the main goals of the BeHealthy Partnership is to transform the way care is delivered at PCP practices through innovative clinical programs and better coordinated care, which results in improved quality and a better overall health care experience for both patients and practitioners.