The Effects of Accountable Care Organizations Forming Preferred Skilled Nursing Facility Networks on Market Share, Patient Composition, and Outcomes

Garrett SchmittNo Comments, ,

Through participation in payment reforms such as bundled payment and accountable care organizations (ACOs), hospitals are increasingly financially responsible for health care use and adverse health events occurring after hospital discharge. To improve management and coordination of postdischarge care, ACO hospitals are establishing a closer relationship with skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) through the formation of…

FLASH INTERVIEW — Proficient Health

Garrett SchmittNo Comments

 Proficient Health improves care delivery and reduces costs by facilitating better communication and delivery/exchange of clinical information across a wide range of providers with disparate systems. Our EHR companion supports better patient care, easier consults, improved operational efficiencies, enhanced in-network optimization and lowered costs for both healthcare providers and patients.. Visit the Proficient Health…

FLASH INTERVIEW — PointRight

Garrett SchmittNo Comments

 Take the risk out of risk-sharing. PointRight analytics can help you create and manage high-performance networks for post-acute and long-term care. Get a view of performance across your network using market-leading analytics and share these insights with your providers to ensure transparency and mitigate risk. Visit the PointRight Exhibit Booth

CMS Delays CHART Model’s ACO Transformation Track

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

CMS has pushed back the application cycle by a year for a new rural-focused accountable care organization (ACO) model. In an email sent yesterday, CMS said it has delayed the request for applications release date from spring 2021 to spring 2022 for the ACO Transformation Track of the upcoming Community Health Access and Rural Transformation…

Solving the ACO’s Out-of-Network Utilization Problem

Garrett SchmittNo Comments,

March 29, 2021 – Physician networks are key to the success of accountable care organizations. Leaders of these organizations, otherwise known as ACOs, lean on their networks of high-quality, cost-efficient providers to improve patient outcomes, reduce costs of care, and achieve shared savings. But patients don’t always stay within cultivated high-performing networks, creating quality and cost…

Do accountable care organizations differ according to physician-hospital integration?

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Physician-hospital integration among accountable care organizations (ACOs) has raised concern over impacts on prices and spending. However, characteristics of ACOs with greater integration between physicians and hospitals are unknown. We examined whether ACOs systematically differ by physician-hospital integration among 16 commercial ACOs operating in Massachusetts. Using claims data linked to information on physician affiliation, we…

FLASH INTERVIEW — Alleon Healthcare Capital

Garrett SchmittNo Comments

 Alleon Healthcare Capital is a finance company that partners with healthcare providers, ACOs, MSOs, and IPAs in the US. Our goal is to help smooth out cash flow issues with our financing programs, while allowing our clients to better serve their communities. Our understanding of medical billing and revenue cycle management makes us the…

NAACOS Calls For Renewed HHS Focus, Funding on Value-Based Care

Garrett SchmittNo Comments

In a letter to HHS, the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) recommended that the agency promote significant ACO growth after several years of policies have hampered healthcare’s move toward value-based care. The letter, written by President and CEO of NAACOS, Clif Gaus, ScD, outlined the cost-saving impact ACOs have had on Medicare spending…

NAACOS asks HHS Secretary Becerra to grow Medicare ACO programs

Garrett SchmittNo Comments

The National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) sent a letter on Monday congratulating Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, on his recent confirmation. The letter also recommends a number of actions to help support accountable care organizations, as well as payment and delivery reform. To support the ACO movement and promote value-based care, NAACOS…