Tufts Health Plan of Watertown, which has a corporate office in downtown Worcester, is extending its reach in New England in a joint venture with a Hartford healthcare system.
Tufts and Hartford HealthCare will form CarePartners of Connecticut Inc., according to a statement issued Wednesday.
Offering Medicare Advantage plans to eligible beneficiaries, the organization will include doctors, hospitals and a health plan in order to improve the quality and coordination of care for patients. The joint venture is awaiting approval from federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Tufts said.
CarePartners of Connecticut marks Tufts’ first entrance into the state. The company has operations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, covering more than 1.1 million members.
In 2015, Tufts launches a similar joint venture with Granite Healthcare Network, based in Concord, N.H. Known as Tufts Health Freedom Plan, it is an employer-based plan with a focus on care coordination.
“Our partnership with Hartford HealthCare comes at a very important time in the quickly shifting healthcare landscape, where providing the highest quality care to our members while effectively managing costs is critical,” Tom Croswell, president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan, said in Wednesday’s statement.
