medical advantage | VBCExhibitHall Library

A Conversation With Lissy Hu, CEO of CarePort: The New Direct Contracting Model, ACOs, Medicare Advantage and What It All Means for Care Coordination and Patients

March 22, 2021Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

Hu founded CarePort while she was a graduate student at Harvard. The care coordination technology company was acquired a second time last fall by Wellsky, a healthcare technology company for $1.35 billion. Senior Editor Peter Wehrwein spoke with Hu about the new CMS Direct Contracting Model, the latest addition to the value-based care menagerie, and what it…

Health Equity Should Be A Key Value In Value-Based Payment And Delivery Reform

November 25, 2020Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated existing health inequities in the United States. Black and Latinx Americans have experienced a disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations due to economic disadvantages, structural racism, and higher rates of underlying chronic conditions. Value-based payment (VBP) structures have the potential to reduce health disparities, and during the pandemic, health…

NAACOS, APG, and This Exceptional Healthcare Policy Moment

November 16, 2020Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

As we reported last week, with the change of administrations that will be coming in January, the leaders of the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), which represents hundreds of accountable care organizations nationwide, on Thursday, Nov. 12, published an outline of what they consider to be successful ACO models, and NAACOS’s president and…

Health Affairs Blog: Health Policy Researchers See Far More Complexity in MSSP Than Meets the Eye

November 16, 2020Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

A team of health policy researchers is arguing that, in order to optimize the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), policy leaders need to think in more complex, nuanced ways about the framework and goals of the program for accountable care organizations (ACOs). Writing in the Health Affairs Blog, Michael McWilliams, M.D., Ph.D., and Alice Chen, Ph.D….

Family doctor, employer groups join forces to replace fee-for-service

July 15, 2020Garrett SchmittNo CommentsFee for service, FFS, medical advantage, Primary Care

A national primary-care physician association and an employer group have teamed up to develop a care model that aims to shift away from fee-for-service reimbursement. The American Academy of Family Physicians and National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions plan to leverage regional employer coalitions and physician networks to form a national primary-care model based on…

RECORDED WEBINAR: How Medicare Advantage Plans and ACOs Can Better Manage Risk in a Value-Based World

June 11, 2020Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage, Webinar, webinars

Managing risk requires collaboration among the clinical and operations teams to develop effective approaches to improving the quality and cost of care. Experienced Medicare Advantage plans can share valuable lessons with organizations interested in improving their ability to meet clinical and financial performance targets, and managing downside risk. Join us for a discussion with…

Risky Business: ACO checklist for 2020 includes embracing new payment models and physician re-engagement

January 3, 2020Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage, pathways, Pathways to Success

The term accountable care organization (ACO) dates back to at least 2006. The Affordable Care Act then made ACOs a fast-growing trend thanks to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launching its Shared Savings Program in 2012. Since then, ACOs have been at the forefront of the value-based care model transition, taking incremental steps…

MA value-based plan enrollment tripling for 2020

December 20, 2019Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

Dive Brief: The number of Medicare Advantage members enrolled in plans with value-based payment designs more than tripled from 2019 to 2020, CMS said Thursday. Approximately 1.2 million beneficiaries joined plans in the Value-Based Insurance Design Model for coverage next year offered by 14 MA organizations across 30 states and Puerto Rico. That’s up from…

The Hedge Bet For Risk Is Patient Experience

October 16, 2019Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

Creating a good Patient Experience in health care has gained little traction, despite being touted as one of the Triple Aim’s key goals in Value-Based Health Care. Health systems have been more focused on how to increase patients via health plan negotiations and consolidating regional providers, rather than focusing on the slower paced process of…

ACOs Save More Compared to Medicare Advantage, Report Finds

August 21, 2019Garrett SchmittNo CommentsMA, medical advantage

The Medicare Shared Savings Program, which governs the majority of Medicare accountable care organizations (ACOs), and Medicare Advantage are gaining in popularity. But the former is saving taxpayers, while the latter is incurring costs, a new report in Health Affairs finds. “Our examination of the literature indicates that Medicare Advantage ‘costs’ Medicare; that is, when a beneficiary joins MA,…