Kroger To Add New Heart Surgery Benefit with Cleveland Clinic through Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield

Cleveland Clinic cardiac surgery expertise is now accessible at little or no cost to eligible Kroger Co. associates and dependents on the company-sponsored health care plan through the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Concierge Program in partnership with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio (Anthem) and its affiliated health plans. The program provides access to complex cardiac surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Heart & Vascular Institute.

For 24 consecutive years, U.S. News & World Report has ranked Cleveland Clinic’s heart program No. 1 in the nation for cardiovascular care.

“Access to high-quality healthcare has an enormous impact on one’s health and wellbeing,” said Dr. Lars Svensson, M.D., Ph.D., chairman of Cleveland Clinic’s Sydell and Arnold Miller Heart & Vascular Institute. “We are proud to collaborate with Anthem and deliver our top-ranked heart surgery expertise to the employees and beneficiaries of Kroger, no matter where they live.”

“We truly care about our associates’ overall well-being, and we’re excited to partner with Cleveland Clinic to offer a personalized, first-class experience at the nation’s leading cardiac center,” said Theresa Monti, Kroger’s vice president of total rewards. “We know health care can be complicated and our goal is to make the process easier. By establishing this partnership, we can provide the best care for our associates at affordable prices when they’re making meaningful decisions about their health.”

To help support the best care for associates, Kroger also pays 100 percent of travel and accommodation expenses for eligible plan participants and a companion to visit Cleveland Clinic. Anthem arranges travel from the associate’s home to the Cleveland Clinic and back again through Healthbase, a leading global medical tourism facilitator.

For the first time Cleveland Clinic is partnering directly with a health benefits company to create a more seamless process for their plan members. This program falls under the umbrella of Cleveland Clinic’s Center of Excellence (COE) Program for cardiac surgery. The program through Anthem is named Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Concierge Program. Launching Jan. 1, 2019, plan members’ care is comprehensively managed by an Anthem Care Coordinator, allowing Kroger associates and dependents to have one point of contact from pre-surgical appointments through recovery at home. Anthem works directly with the Kroger benefits team to ensure their associates maximize their COE benefit and have access to the appropriate level of care for their cardiac condition. The Appropriateness of Care feature within the Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Concierge Program will allow Kroger associates and dependents access to a free second opinion for cardiac surgery from the number one heart center in the country.

“At Anthem, we are dedicated to partnering with care providers who can create innovative, meaningful and cost-effective health care solutions for consumers. Our collaboration with the Cleveland Clinic is an innovative approach aimed at making treatment for cardiac conditions as simple and supportive as possible for Kroger employees and their families, so their top priority can be focusing on their recovery and getting back to full health,” said Morgan Kendrick, president of Anthem’s national accounts business. “This program is built on creating a strong personal relationship, which starts when an Anthem care coordinator proactively reaches out to consumers who could potentially benefit from the Cardiac Concierge program.”

The Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Concierge Program is an innovative solution that provides Kroger plan members with high-quality healthcare while also managing costs. The Cleveland Clinic Cardiac Concierge Program helps keep costs down through better outcomes and bundled pricing – a single payment that covers a patient’s specific treatment over a period of time – while giving plan members greater access to the best possible care.