Unsatisfied with the health insurance options in the Arizona market, Banner Health and Aetna joined together to create the innovative joint venture, Banner|Aetna, a separately licensed, Arizona-based insurance company that launched in 2017 to serve commercial and public entity organizations across Arizona. Since inception, Banner|Aetna has grown to cover more than 300,000 members. The goal of Banner Health and CVS|Aetna, which collectively employ over 50,000 employees in Arizona, is to align incentives and leverage the strengths of both entities to transform the way healthcare is delivered in Arizona. Banner|Aetna is committed to delivering high quality, affordable health care while improving the care delivery system and member experience. Their performance network plans offer significant cost savings when compared to typical broad network offerings. On the care delivery front, Banner|Aetna has delegated utilization management functions to the delivery system and developed a multidisciplinary care team that provides face-to-face support for the care needs of high-risk patients. Banner|Aetna is also focused on delivering an improved member experience by launching new initiatives such as welcome kits, integrated customer service and a brand new virtual primary care offering – delivered by 98point6 – which provides convenient and low-cost primary care through a text based solution backed by AI technology. Learn more about Banner|Aetna here. Photo: Banner|Aetna