Two major health care organizations announced today they are working together to figure out mutually agreeable ways to improve patients’ access to health care that is timely, high quality and affordable. This year, the AMA and Anthem—whose health plans cover more than 40 million people—will pursue collaboration in four key areas to:

• Enhance consumer and patient health care literacy.
• Develop and implement value-based payment models for primary and specialty care physicians.
• Improve access to timely, actionable data to enhance patient care.
• Streamline or eliminate low-value prior-authorization requirements.

“Physicians caring for patients across the country have many ideas about how we can reduce health care costs and administrative burdens while improving clinical outcomes, and we need the collaboration of Anthem and all health plans to implement those strategies,” AMA Board Chair Gerald E. Harmon, MD, said. “The AMA looks forward to finding common ground on ways to improve the delivery of affordable, high-quality, patient-centered care.”

My lede at AMA Wire. The whole shebang.