ACO exchanges pop up on carrier radar

Carriers might be getting more serious about marrying two hot health insurance concepts — private exchanges and accountable care organizations.

Aetna Chairman Mark Bertolini gave the exchange-ACO hybrid concept buzz this week during a first-quarter earnings call.

Bertolini said Aetna plans to bolt private exchanges onto its ACO models, and give individuals and small groups the ability to use the exchanges to shop for bundles of health care services from multiple provider systems.

Aetna also wants to use private exchanges to offer a “national ACO chain” to large employers, Bertolini said.

Meanwhile, Simeon Schindelman, the chief executive of Bloom Health Corp., was out trying to promote his company’s established exchange-ACO program.

Bloom Health is working with a Minneapolis carrier, Medica Inc., to offer employers access to a choice of four commercial market ACOs.