Direct-to-Employer health plan now available for East Tennessee employers
Published August 18, 2023; 1:31 p.m.

Plan offers a low-cost marketplace for employers

KNOXVILLE – Employers and their employees in the greater Knoxville area now have a new health plan option provided through the East Tennessee Health Plan. The East Tennessee Health Plan provides employees access to quality comprehensive medical care while improving healthcare costs for employers.

The East Tennessee Health Plan option is a strategic initiative by respected provider organizations, including The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC), Tennova Healthcare and Summit Medical Group working with population health management programs administered through the American Health Data Institute (AHDI). This plan represents an integrated approach that enables employers to control healthcare costs while offering employees access to the care that they need. By offering preferred community-based pricing, the plan provides cost savings and value to employers and employees. East Tennessee Health Plan’s collaboration with AHDI will reduce costs for employers, promote best practices through evidence-based care, improve employee health and well-being and share analytics to address budget, cost drivers and focused intervention for better outcomes.

“As an employer, we understand how critical it is to take care of the lives of employees and their family members,” said Tony Benton, CEO, Tennova Healthcare. “Year over year, we have seen employers faced with difficult decisions on how to provide quality, cost-effective healthcare to their employees, thus keeping their workforce healthy and productive. Every year, premiums rise, out-of-pocket costs increase, and coverage is limited. We saw a need to provide an alternative for our community, and we are honored to collaborate with The University of Tennessee Medical Center, Summit Medical Group and Key Benefit Administrators to help provide this new insurance plan option.”

“The University of Tennessee Medical Center believes employers should have access to high-quality, low-cost healthcare coverage for their workforce,” said Joseph R. Landsman Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of UTMC. “Partnering with Tennova and Summit Medical Group provides employers in the East Tennessee area the option to directly contract with healthcare providers, including a nationally recognized academic medical center.”

Collaborating with Key Benefit Administrators (KBA) and the American Health Data Institute (AHDI), East Tennessee Health Plan will provide a population health management system supported by the strength of a high-quality network of providers.

“It’s time for employers and employees to directly connect with healthcare providers in their community on a level never before attained,” said Larry Dust, CEO of KBA and AHDI. “These strategies embedded into the East Tennessee Health Plan are creative, patented and proven to lower healthcare costs for employers while improving the health of employees. All of us at Key Benefit and the American Health Data Institute are very excited about our collaboration with the East Tennessee Health Plan.”

This plan is available to all employers. Learn more about the East Tennessee Health Plan.

About East Tennessee Health Plan
East Tennessee Health Plan believes in its mission to deliver quality care and service. By choosing this plan, you are choosing high-quality healthcare for employees and their dependents.


Using Risk Management Techniques For High-Quality Outcomes And Lower Costs

• East Tennessee Health Plan is a community-based solution to combat rising healthcare costs powered by top-tier local providers working as one of the largest health networks in East Tennessee. Our network of quality medical providers includes 2,000 clinicians and over 1,400 beds included with Tennova Healthcare and The University of Tennessee Medical Center, other local independent primary and specialty practices and a national wrap network to allow plan participants to seek high-quality and cost-efficient care.
• East Tennessee Health Plan is a collaborative effort between Tennova Healthcare, The University of Tennessee Medical Center and many local providers in the East Tennessee area.

About Key Benefit Administrators (KBA)
Key Benefit Administrators (KBA) – The Key Family of Companies – was founded in 1979 as a full-service group benefits administration firm specializing in self-funded medical plans. Since that time, the Key Family has grown to become one of the country’s largest independently owned third-party administrators, supporting a wide variety of group benefit plans. With its two major locations in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Fort Mill, South Carolina, the Key Family is a commonly held group of benefits-related organizations with over 400 employees, over 3,000 corporate customers, and over 3 million members under management. Information about The Key Family of Companies can be found here.

About Tennova Healthcare
The Tennova Healthcare network of hospitals in East Tennessee includes Jefferson Memorial Hospital, LaFollette Medical Center, Newport Medical Center, North Knoxville Medical Center and Turkey Creek Medical Center with nearly 16,000 admissions, 410,000 outpatient visits and 125,000 emergency department visits each year. Turkey Creek Medical Center is a Level III Trauma Center, recognized by The Joint Commission for Hip and Knee, BCBS Distinction - Hip and Knee, BCBS Distinction - Bariatrics, Institute of Quality in Bariatrics, Cigna Center of Excellence for Bariatrics, The Joint Commission Center of Excellence Bariatrics, Get with the Guidelines Silver Plus Stroke Quality Achievement Award, NCDR ACC Chest Pain MI Registry Platinum Performance Award, Commission on Cancer Certification, Mammography ACR Accreditation. For more information go to Tennova.com.

About The University of Tennessee Medical Center
The mission of The University of Tennessee Medical Center (UTMC), a Magnet® recognized hospital also certified by The Joint Commission as a Comprehensive Stroke Center, is to serve through healing, education and discovery. UTMC is a 710-bed, not-for-profit academic medical center, with a regional network of primary care and specialty care physicians and practices as well as outpatient regional health centers and urgent care locations throughout its 21-county primary service area. The medical center, the region’s ACS-verified Level I Trauma Center and state designated regional perinatal referral center with a Level III private room NICU, is one of the largest employers in Knoxville. UTMC features nine Centers of Excellence, including the Brain & Spine Institute, Cancer Institute, Emergency & Trauma Center, Heart Lung Vascular Institute, Orthopaedic Institute, Center for Complex Medicine, Center for Perioperative Medicine, Primary Care Collaborative and Center for Women & Infants. Visit UTMedicalCenter.org for more information.