Accountable care organizations (ACO) serving employer-sponsored plan participants perform better than non-ACOs on 87% of the quality metrics tracked, the report says, with hospital admission rates that are 17% lower for ACOs serving employer-sponsored and individual plan participants compared to non-ACOs. “We know we’re making an impact, making a dent, but we still have a…
The movement to value-based care is alive and well, with the Trump administration eager to put their own stamp on the program. In one of his first major speeches as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar said value-based care “needs to accelerate dramatically.” This reprises the administration’s draft 2018–2022 strategic plan for HHS…
Large U.S. employers are beginning to ask: Could contracting directly with health systems reduce costs while improving employee health? As part of a growing trend, more companies are seeking direct-to-employer accountable care organization (ACO) arrangements. The goal is to create a more affordable health benefit option for employees that is outcome-oriented and results in a…
Jeff Terry, CEO of GE Healthcare Command Centers, talks with Fortune Magazine about utilizing cutting edge developments in technology and data collection for the Command Center at Johns Hopkins Hospital to positively impact patient care. See Video
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission has released its semiannual report on Medicare payment policy to Congress, which includes a recommendation to axe the Merit-based Incentive Payment System. MedPAC said it decided MIPS should be eliminated after a two-year deliberative process. “We first examined options for improving MIPS as it was implemented, and we provided constructive…
The primary goals of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) were aptly named by Donald Berwick, MD, former acting CMS administrator as ‘the triple aim’: improving experience of care, improving the health of populations and reducing the per capita costs of healthcare. In order to control costs, ACO providers voluntarily collaborate to provide efficient, high quality coordinated…
With thousands of apps available to consumers and mobile solutions being used in almost every medical center across the country, mobile health technology is a big industry projected to continue growing over the next few years. Statista reports that the global mobile health market will generate an estimated $28 billion in 2018. According to The…
“In times of rapid change, experience could be your worst enemy,” said J. Paul Getty. He might have been giving us advice on how to transform health care. We have reached the tipping point for broader adoption of ACOs and other Advanced Alternative Payment Models (AAPMs) to organize health care and payment under both Medicare…
The Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI) released its analysis of 2016 health spending for a group of commercial insurers last month. The report is a trove of information that, like all good analyses, suggests more questions than it answers. Buried in the report—in figure 15—is an alarming trend that should rise to the top of…
Giving providers a holistic view of the patient resulted in accountable care organization (ACO) success for a risk-based organization in southern Florida, which earned a place on the list of ACOs achieving the greatest shared savings in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) in 2016. Millennium Physician Group’s Track 3 MSSP ACO earned an impressive…