Prospective or Retrospective ACO Attribution Matters for Seriously Ill Patients

Garrett Schmitt

ABSTRACT Objectives: Since 2019, the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) has allowed accountable care organizations (ACOs) to choose either retrospectively or prospectively attributed ACO populations. To understand how ACOs’ choice of attribution method affects incentives for care among seriously ill Medicare beneficiaries, this study compares beneficiary characteristics and Medicare per capita expenditures between prospective and…

Analytics, precision medicine key to value-based care, but health systems struggle with funding: KLAS survey

Garrett Schmitt

Limited funding and lack of reimbursement from payers are the top hurdles to patient engagement technologies, analytics and precision medicine, according to a survey of chief information officers. Healthcare providers plan to ramp up investments in telemedicine, patient portals and data aggregation capabilities but continue to struggle with how to fund these investments, a survey report from…

3 lessons from independent, physician-led ACOs

Garrett Schmitt

Participating in a physician-led accountable care organization can be an alternative for independent physicians who don’t want to consolidate with a hospital or health system. Indeed, physician-led ACOs show promising results and in various studies outperform ACOs led by hospitals and other large medical organizations. They also can provide a way for practices to handle increasing government regulation and can help…

Reducing Low-Value Care Key to Value-Based Reimbursement Success

Garrett SchmittNo Comments

Value-based reimbursement success hinges on decreasing low-value care across patient populations, explained Scott Weingarten, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. While hospitals and health systems have flocked to value-based care strategies, such as population health management programs and high-risk patient interventions, the non-profit academic healthcare organization in…

Patient Engagement Strategies Lack Patient Voice, Consumer Input

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

Healthcare organizations are increasingly recognizing the imperative for patient-centered care in value-based payment models, but very few are adequately incorporating the patient voice into their strategies, according to a recent report from the Health Care Transformation Task Force (HCTTF). “The transition to value-based payment has generated more momentum for implementing high-quality, patient-centered care and involving…