Cricket brings its innovative, integrated kidney care model to BCBS national accounts
SAN FRANCISCO, May 29, 2019 — Cricket Health, an integrated kidney care provider, today announced that Consortium Health Plans, a national collaboration of 21 independently licensed Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) Plans, has selected Cricket Health as a Preferred Partner. Through this new collaboration, Consortium’s membership of BCBS plans will be able to offer Cricket’s innovative model of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) care to their national accounts, which in total represent nearly 25 million members.
“Employers today demand the best possible quality and value from their health care providers and health plans. By working with Consortium, together we can help large national employers covered by its partner plans access better kidney care that drives better health outcomes and reduced costs for their millions of employees across the country,” said Arvind Rajan, CEO and co-founder of Cricket Health.
Consortium Health Plans strives to position BCBS Plans as the preferred carrier for national employers. As part of this mission, Consortium’s Preferred Partner Program vets and selects best-in-class health care providers and vendors to help its BCBS member plans deliver the most value to their national account customers. This collaboration makes Cricket’s patient-centered kidney care available as an option for all of Consortium’s plan partners to offer to their national employer customers.
Cricket Health takes a totally different approach to kidney care by focusing on early detection and preventive care to slow disease progression and prolong kidney function as long as possible. Cricket’s integrated care model combines a nephrology practice that provides remote, in-person, and at-home care; a multidisciplinary care team to coordinate care and manage outcomes; state-of-the-art technology to provide patient education and 24/7 peer and clinical support; and dialysis care either at home or in redesigned centers that put patient empowerment first. Cricket delivers this patient-centered care through value-based payer arrangements with large employers, in which it takes on financial accountability for patient health outcomes and total renal care costs.
“We are dedicated to providing our partner plans a set of high-value, innovative solutions, and are excited to do just that by working with Cricket Health to offer an integrated, patient-centered approach to kidney care,” said Aamir Rehman, MD, SVP of Clinical Innovation at Consortium Health Plans.
The collaboration with Consortium Health Plans comes in a year of momentum for Cricket Health. The company raised a $24 million Series A funding round in September, led by Oak HC/FT, and has grown its executive team with the addition of renowned nephrologist Carmen Peralta as chief medical officer; digital health veteran Geoff Clapp as chief product officer; former Fresenius Medical Care executive Robert Sepucha as chief administrative officer; and longtime health engineering leader Sam Mankiewicz as chief technology officer.
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About Cricket Health
Cricket Health is an integrated kidney care provider for people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end stage renal disease (ESRD). Cricket Health delivers world-class multidisciplinary care to achieve the best outcomes possible for patients and the best value for partners, keeping patients healthy and out of the hospital, accelerating access to transplant, and increasing home dialysis adoption. Cricket Health has assembled a team of experts in renal care, technology, and innovative care payment and delivery models based out of their headquarters in San Francisco. Learn more at www.crickethealth.com or follow us @crickethealth.
About Consortium Health Plans, Inc.
Consortium Health Plans was founded in 1994 by member Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) Plans to provide a central coordination point for member Plans that have national account clients. Consortium provides the sales, analytics, and marketing support necessary to ensure that BCBS remains the preferred carrier for large national employers.
Today, Consortium remains the only sales and marketing entity that focuses exclusively on BCBS Plans’ national account growth efforts. BCBS Plans serve more than 26 million national account members; of those, nearly 25 million hail from Consortium’s 21 member Plans.
