Kentucky Health Cooperative partners with UK HealthCare, extending coverage to all 120 Kentucky counties
For Kentucky residents who enroll in a Kentucky Health Cooperative insurance plan, the agreement is bringing a statewide network of high-level, accessible clinicians to all 120 Kentucky counties, Janie Miller, chief executive officer of the organization, said in a news release.
The cooperative is Kentucky’s non-profit, or Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan under the federal health reform law. The co-op offers coverage to individuals and families and to employees of businesses employing two to 50 full-time equivalent employees, which can be purchased on the state health-benefits exchange, branded as Kynect, directly from the co-op website and from many brokers and agents in Kentucky.
Both Anthem and the co-op offer plans throughout the state, while Humana is offering a limited service area. Since the co-op is a new insurance carrier, forging this type of partnership with UK is an important step; UK HealthCare hass multiple locations across Kentucky, including hospitals, clinics, outreach locations and patient care services, says the release. In addition, it ensures that co-op coverage will be accepted by the more than 1,000 clinicians affiliated with the UK health system.
Part of UK HealthCare’s mission is to provide Kentuckians with advanced subspecialty care, while collaborating closely with community providers, says its website. Miller said the co-op’s collaboration with UK will significantly benefit both Kentuckians who seek advanced medicine and those who require rural health care, the co-op says in the release.
“We look forward to teaming up with some of the nation’s top clinicians and researchers as well as with community providers dedicated to the delivery of well-integrated health services at the community level,” Miller said. (Read more)