Seven of Kansas’ independent rural hospitals have joined together to form a clinically integrated network, the latest in a series of collaborations that have emerged among providers seeking more efficient and coordinated operations.
The new entity announced Wednesday is called Kansas High Value Network (KS-HVN). Collectively, its members represent $545 million in net revenue, manage five critical access hospitals, and together serve a population of 190,000 patients, with hopes to grow to include more independent rural hospitals in the future.
“The communities we serve want to keep rural health care rural and close to home,” Edward Herrman, KS-HVN board chairman and president and CEO of member hospital HaysMed, said in the announcement. “This collaboration helps us ensure that decisions about care in our communities are designed for our communities.”
KS-HVN follows six similar clinically integrated networks created by Cibolo Health, an advisory firm that supports rural hospitals by spearheading day-to-day network management. The networks began in 2023 with the Rough Rider High Value Network in North Dakota and, prior to KS-HVN, had more recently added the Wisconsin High Value Network last fall.
“The momentum behind clinically integrated networks reflects a broader shift in healthcare toward greater collaboration, accountability and value,” Ben Bucher, vice president of network operations at Cibolo Health, told Fierce Healthcare. “As policymakers, providers and health centers look for scalable ways to improve outcomes and control costs, CINs have emerged as a proven framework to align incentives while keeping care decisions close to patients and their physicians, keeping care local.”
Similar to those collaborations, hospitals participating in KS-HVN remain independent but are working together on best practices around delivery of care related to outcomes, administrative efficiency and costs. That will include forming value-based agreements with insurers, they said, as well as other multi-hospital programs (with optional participation) that could reduce the costs of purchasing equipment and services.
From the outset, a Clinical Integration Committee formed with a provider from each hospital will establish clinical metrics for a network-wide data sharing platform, a key step toward improving performance and achieving value-based care agreements with insurers.
Networks launched through Cibolo Health and others have covered a wide range of clinical and operational collaborations, for example, sharing medical specialists, pooling staff for employee health insurance plans, splitting the cost of community investments, or achieving shared contracts for provider services. They are often presented by advocates as a favorable alternative to merging with a larger health system or shutting it down entirely.
The government has also been receptive to deals, with funding concessions available. through federal sub-agencies or states’ (including Kansas’) Rural Health Transformation Fund Programs.
“We are encouraged to see federal investment supporting the development of these networks, particularly in rural communities that can benefit from greater care coordination and population health infrastructure,” Bucher said. “CINs that have matured in recent years are demonstrating that when providers work together around shared quality and performance goals, they can achieve significant improvements in both patient outcomes and system efficiency, ultimately leading to reduced cost of care.”
