RESPONSES / COMMENTS (NON-CLINICAL) - PART 1

07/27/2010     

RE: Supergroup vs. IPA (Name Withheld)
From: David N. Helfman, DPM

Independent physician associations (IPAs) were initially formed as a defense mechanism to managed care and allowed physicians to come together as a group in unity to negotiate more favorable rates with insurance companies. IPAs were very big in the early 1990’s, however, with the trend of payers to a more open access model, the IPA model really has faded away and many have disappeared that existed in the 1990’s. Many IPAs had exclusive payer contracts and were able to share risk in the form of capitation, but that model for now is relatively extinct except in a few markets across the country. In summary, an IPA is a service organization that enables physicians who practice independently to deliver healthcare services at reasonable rate of reimbursement.

Super group models, in my mind, are the future and…

Editor's note: Dr. Helfman's extended-length letter can be read here.