32BJ Health Fund, In Partnership With Mount Sinai Health System, Announces First-In-The-Nation Regional Centers of Excellence
Zero Copay Joint Replacement & Weight Loss Surgeries For Fund Participants At Multi-State Partner Hospitals Creates Blueprint For Providing Affordable, High-Quality Care In The Face Of Rising Costs
The 32BJ Health Fund and the Mount Sinai Health System today announced expansion of their unique Centers of Excellence program, which provides bariatric and joint replacement surgeries at no-cost to Fund participants, to include partner hospitals in New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. 32BJ has designed this program to eliminate out-of-pocket costs for Fund participants who undergo joint replacement or weight loss surgical procedures at select high-quality hospitals and health systems.
This multi-state effort to provide access to important procedures that dramatically improve patients’ quality of life is believed to be the first of its kind in the nation and can serve as a model for how hospitals and self-funded health plans can work together.
“We are proud and excited to be able to expand our Centers of Excellence program outside New York, as it is a proven method of providing affordable and high-quality care to our members,” said Health Fund Chairman and 32BJ President Kyle Bragg. “As the cost of health care continues to rise, it is paramount that we seek creative ways to ensure hard-working Fund participants and their families are able to get the services they need to stay safe and healthy.”
“Thanks to Mount Sinai and our hospital partners outside New York, many more Fund participants will be able to participate in this groundbreaking program,” Bragg continued. “I hope other hospitals and health plans follow suit.”
“When a program grows, you know it is working,” said Stephen Furia, Senior Vice President of Population Health Solutions at Mount Sinai. “We are thankful to have an innovative partner like 32BJ who understands the value the Centers of Excellence programs brings to their members. Through our 5-year partnership, we have seen the programs deliver and we are excited to now be working with top rated hospitals across multiple geographies to bring this same great service to more 32BJ members and their families.”
Direct contracts with hospitals and health systems are one of the many ways the 32BJ Health Fund is striving to lower the cost of care for their participants. Through the Mount Sinai partnership, the 32BJ Health Fund is able to continue to offer high-quality care to participants while saving millions of dollars, leaving more funds available for other benefits and wages.
Centers of Excellence program benefits include:
- No copays for all visits from surgery through 30 days post-treatment
- Access to high-quality bariatric and joint surgeons
- Personal Care Guide who will answer questions and coordinate visits
- Free transportation to and from surgery
Beginning January 1, 2022, the Centers of Excellence program will now be available at the following hospitals and outpatient surgery centers:
New York
- Mount Sinai Morningside
- Mount Sinai West
New Jersey
- Valley Health System
Connecticut
- Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center
- Saint Mary’s Hospital
Florida
- Holy Cross Health – Fort Lauderdale
Massachusetts
- Boston Outpatient Surgical Suites
- Mount Auburn Hospital
- New England Baptist Hospital
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
- Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
- Pennsylvania Hospital
Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
- AHN Forbes Hospital
- AHN Monroeville Surgery Center
- AHN West Penn Hospital
- AHN Wexford Hospital
Pennsylvania: Erie
- AHN Saint Vincent Hospital
Recognizing the success of the Mount Sinai program, the Health Fund was eager to replicate the program for participants outside New York.
Participants who live within 50 miles of a Center of Excellence must use both a Centers of Excellence provider and facility for the procedure to be covered under this program. This guarantees that the Fund can continue to provide high-quality care to its participants at an affordable cost.
“Penn Medicine is excited to be part of this drive toward clinical excellence and patient-centered care, and we look forward to serving these members,” said PJ Brennan, MD, chief medical officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. “This will allow our top-notch teams to deliver even more people the care that they deserve.”
“We want participants to know that we’re always working to provide them with the best available options,” said Howard Rothschild, President of the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations, Inc. “By expanding our widely popular Mount Sinai program, we’re continuing to give participants access to this low-cost, high-quality program at no cost to them.”
“Besides having my son, utilizing the 32BJ Health Fund and its Bariatric Surgery Program was the best thing I’ve ever done,” said Brenda Berisha a 32BJ Health Fund Participant. “I would recommend it to anyone who needs it.”
“Valley Health System looks forward to offering its stellar surgical services to the members of 32BJ,” said Robert Brenner, MD, Valley Health System’s President for Clinical Integration and the Physician Enterprise. “Our Total Joint Replacement Center and our Center for Bariatric Surgery and Weight Loss Management have been recognized for their quality and compassionate care, and we are delighted that more members of our community will be able to take advantage of the comprehensive services each program offers.”
“At Allegheny Health Network (AHN), our goal is to provide patients with convenient access to high-quality, high-value health care services,” said Donald Whiting, MD, AHN Chief Medical Officer. “That’s why we are so excited to participate in the 32BJ Health Fund initiative being led by Mount Sinai, which will enable even more patients to benefit from the exceptional bariatric and joint replacement surgery programs that we offer in the Pittsburgh and Erie regions.”
“As a clinically integrated network focused on population health, SoNE HEALTH is a leader in value-based care. We strive to continually optimize the health outcomes of our patient populations while maintaining affordability,” said Lisa Trumble, President and Chief Executive Officer at SoNE HEALTH, whose network includes Saint Mary’s Hospital and Saint Francis Hospital in Connecticut. “We have always been dedicated to a collaborative approach to healthcare, working together with our network providers, health plans and employers to deliver the best patient care for patients at an affordable cost. Participation in this innovative program represents yet another step on the path from volume to value.”
"For years, our joint replacement and bariatric surgery programs have raised the bar on clinical excellence and patient experience," said Holy Cross Health CEO Mark Doyle. "We are thrilled to partner, listen to the consumer and make it easier for Fund participants to get the quality care they need and deserve."
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.