About Us - Mississippi Valley Independent Practice Association

The Mississippi Valley Independent Practice Association (MVIPA) is an Independent Practice Association (IPA) consisting of approximately 75 primary and specialty physicians who practice in Southeast Iowa.

The MVIPA was formed in 1995 to provide a vehicle for physicians to maintain their independent practice of medicine, yet be part of a large negotiating entity. Through an Independent Practice Association, members benefit as part of a larger organization in negotiating manage care contracts and other services. It allows physicians the negotiating clout of a large medical practice while letting them preserve their independence. The MVIPA was formed in response to challenges physicians face as they try to compete in a world of increasingly restrictive managed care, government and PPO contracts.

Today, the MVIPA has blossomed into a full service IPA providing a network of providers for several insurance companies in the Southeast Iowa area. The MVIPA’s compliment of services includes: network management, contracting term resolution, application/credentialing, assistance with claims resolution, and discount savings opportunities.

The IPA arrangement also offers an advantage to the managed care companies. Working with the MVIPA lets each insurance carrier/payer negotiate with a single entity to cover their members’ medical needs instead of the time and resources it takes to negotiate with each individual provider. Our membership panel is comprehensive and includes over 80% of all providers in Southeast Iowa.

The goal of the Mississippi Valley IPA is to provide local access to quality care at a competitive premium for residents in Southeast Iowa. The MVIPA is successful in this goal through negotiation with insurance carriers, and insurance payers, as well as direct employer network contracting. The MVIPA is always open to reviewing contracts that would be mutually beneficial to local employers as well as the physician community.

The MVIPA was founded by a handful of physicians in the Burlington area and has since grown to include the physician communities of Fort Madison and Keokuk, Iowa as well. The IPA is governed by an elected nine physician Board of Directors which determines the MVIPA strategies, priorities and policies. The majority of the current Board members have been committed to the goals and mission of the MVIPA since its inception.

Physicians who join the MVIPA have no equity ownership in the organization and can still run their own practices independently. No physician is limited to which contracts they participate in. Each physician can decide what is beneficial for their individual office and make their contracting decisions accordingly.

The MVIPA operates financially from quarterly membership fees physicians pay to have their interests represented in negotiations with managed-care contractors, PPOs, and individual employer networks. In addition, the network generates revenues through administrative fees related to managing the negotiated contracts.

The MVIPA remains focused on its local community and continues its evolution toward a more highly interdependent and integrated medical group model.