Partnership will offer community-based primary care and behavioral health services to Medicaid Tailored Plan members across North Carolina

BROOKLYN, N.Y. and MORRISVILLE, N.C., July 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance Health, a managed care organization responsible for 137,000 Medicaid-eligible members across North Carolina, announced today a partnership with Cityblock, a value-based healthcare provider for Medicaid and dually eligible beneficiaries. Through this partnership, Cityblock will provide comprehensive, integrated medical and behavioral health care to members with serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder enrolled in Alliance Health's Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Development Disability (BH I/DD) Tailored Plan. The partnership launched in Mecklenburg, Cumberland, and Wake counties on July 1, 2024 and coincides with the state's ongoing Medicaid transformation efforts. Cityblock has been operating in North Carolina since 2021.

Alliance Health is responsible for ensuring that some of the most vulnerable members of the North Carolina Medicaid system receive timely access to specialized care to address their overall health and well-being. Benefitting from a lengthy history as a behavioral health managed care organization, Alliance Health has developed a network of service providers that delivers an array of community-based and innovative services for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness, substance use disorders, and intellectual and developmental disabilities. As a fully integrated BH I/DD Tailored Plan, Alliance Health has expanded its network to include primary care providers, specialists, ancillary health providers, and pharmacies, and contracts with a number of provider organizations and systems that provide a more comprehensive approach to member care. Alliance Health also makes care management services available to all of its BH I/DD Tailored Plan members, either directly or through contracts with certified provider agencies.

Alliance Health will partner with Cityblock to provide eligible members access to Cityblock's primary care and behavioral health care services across modalities, where members will have the option to see their care team virtually, in their homes, or at existing Cityblock clinics. Cityblock's care model connects enrolled and eligible members to a multidisciplinary care team that includes primary care providers, behavioral health specialists, community health partners, nurse care managers, pharmacy navigators and more.

Alliance Health and Cityblock have engaged in a value-based arrangement – Alliance Health's first shared risk arrangement – creating strong alignment towards a common goal of delivering higher quality health care and outcomes for members. This care structure allows care teams the flexibility to intervene and invest in dynamic strategies to meet members' complex clinical and non-clinical needs. Alliance Health and Cityblock's value-based partnership will help increase access to unique, integrated care for the most vulnerable members, close gaps in health equity, and drive sustainable value.

"Alliance believes that Cityblock's treatment approach of providing community-based integrated primary care, behavioral health care, and attention to social supports is an ideal model to address the complex needs of our members," said Alliance Health Chief Operating Officer Sean Schreiber. "We have been impressed with their desire and commitment to engage and serve our population."

"Access to integrated care for people with behavioral health needs is critical to the NCDHHS priority of behavioral health and resilience. People have better outcomes when we treat the mind and body – the whole person," said Kelly Crosbie, Director, Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Use Services, NC Department of Health and Human Services. "NCDHHS applauds Alliance and Cityblock's leadership in tailoring this innovative model to address the whole-person needs of people with behavioral and substance use disorder needs."

"We share North Carolina and Alliance Health's longstanding commitment to providing innovative, high-quality care to members with complex behavioral health needs," said Dr. Toyin Ajayi, CEO and cofounder of Cityblock. "Together, and on the heels of North Carolina's groundbreaking transition to Medicaid managed care, we will deploy care to treat individuals holistically and reduce health disparities, and we look forward to delivering clinical and financial outcomes for marginalized and underserved communities throughout the state."

Operating on the premise that health is local and personal, Cityblock serves members with complex needs, many of whom are at disproportionately higher risk for poor health outcomes. By offering 24/7 access and care, Cityblock's multidisciplinary care team helps to reduce unnecessary emergency department visits and avoidable inpatient admissions, while improving quality and member participation in their healthcare. According to its 2024 Equity in Action Report, Cityblock's care model has shown increased engagement and clinical continuity, and meaningful reductions in avoidable inpatient admissions – all of which drives outsized impact in helping people live healthier lives.

About Alliance Health
Alliance Health is a public managed care organization serving Cumberland, Durham, Harnett, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties in North Carolina. Working with a network of more than 4,000 private providers, Alliance has responsibility for 137,000 Medicaid-eligible individuals among a population of over 3.5M.

The Alliance Medicaid Behavioral Health and Intellectual/Developmental Disability Tailored Plan manages all the health care needs – physical, behavioral and pharmacy – for people with severe mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and long-term care needs including intellectual/developmental disability and traumatic brain injury.

About Cityblock Health
Founded in 2017, Cityblock is a transformative, value-based primary care company that serves over 100,000 Medicaid and Medicare-Medicaid dually eligible beneficiaries. Our medical practices deliver integrated clinical care, behavioral health services, and social care – virtually, in-home, and in community-based clinics. Modern technology is at the core of our care model, with custom-built tools to support every facet of care team operations and member interactions. Cityblock partners with 3 of the top 5 national Medicaid health plans, and currently operates in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Florida.

Cityblock has been named to Fast Company's World's 50 Most Innovative Companies list, CNBC's Disruptor 50 list, Forbes' America's Best Startup Employers list, and Fierce Healthcare's inaugural Fierce 15 list. To learn more about the company, visit www.cityblock.com.

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SOURCE Cityblock Health