CMS Taps 27 ACOs to Start Shared Savings Program
27 accountable care organizations began the Medicare Shared Savings Program
April 1.
(HealthLeaders Media, April 11, 2012)
H2RMinutes:
Accountable Care
News for professionals interested in accountable care
5
Foundational Questions for Hospitals Acquiring Physician Practices
As physicians increasingly join hospitals as employees, a clear interest
from both hospitals and physician practices to partner together is evident.
In 2010, 65 percent of established physicians were placed in hospital-owned
practices, according to the Medical Group Management Association's physician
placement report, up from its 2008 report which showed a number closer
to 50 percent.
(Becker's
ASC Review,
Aug. 2, 2011)
Healthcare Quality Congress: How to improve care while bending cost curve
During a keynote address at the ninth annual Healthcare Quality Congress,
experts discussed bending the cost curve as the U.S. healthcare system
readies itself for a change toward accountable care. (CMIO, Aug.
2, 2011)
Hospitals,
Health Systems and Payors Hesitant About Medicare ACO Participation, KPMG
Led Polls Show
Senior executives at hospitals, health systems and payor organizations
are uncertain about their organization's position on participating in the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' shared savings program (MSSP),
commonly referred to as the Medicare ACO program, according to the findings
from polls conducted by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm;
EpsteinBeckerGreen; and JHD Group.
(PR Newswire, June 28, 2011)
ACO Incentives for Rural Participants Unconvincing
Recent clarification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services about how rural providers may participate in ACOs has done little
to change one providers mind about them. (HealthLeaders Media, June 1, 2011)
AMA,
AHIP Disagree Over Market Share Threshold In ACO Antitrust Guidelines
Doctors are at odds with insurance companies when it comes to how the
administration should pursue antitrust oversight of accountable care organizations.
(InsideHealthPolicy.com, May 26, 2011)
Summary of New Health Reform Law
The summary reflects provisions of the new law, and changes made by subsequent legislation, including provisions to expand coverage, control health care costs, and improve the health care delivery system. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Anthem: Global payments coming back
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s vision for accountable care organizations foresees doctors and hospitals shifting to global capitation payments and employers getting bigger discounts if they allow their workers access only to health care providers in a specific organization. (IBJ.com, April 25, 2011)
Eleven Things to Know About ACOs
Accountable Care Organizations, or ACOs, are the centerpiece of the government’s latest effort to reform healthcare and save Medicare from bankruptcy. Until HHS released its proposed rules for ACOs on March 31, there had been much conjecture, but little concrete information, on the organizational and risk/reward structures of ACOs. We will not know for some months, until the final rules are announced, the shape ACOs will take. Until then, here are eleven things you should know about ACOs.
(Physicians Practice by Indiana Clinic, April 12, 2011)
High Performance Accountable Care: Building on Success and Learning from Experience
A key provision of the Affordable Care Act is the establishment of the Medicare Shared Savings Program, which provides incentives for improved quality and efficiency to a new category of provider—the accountable care organization (ACO).
(The Commonwealth Fund, April 14, 2011)
ACOs Forging the Links
Building an accountable care organization is viewed by many hospital executives as the holy grail as they try to figure out how to better manage patient care across the continuum and as they brace for the growth in bundled payments.
(January 2011 issue of HHN Magazine )
ACOs Run the Risk of Conflicting with Federal Antitrust Laws
The new health care law encourages collaboration by doctors and hospitals for cost savings, but a split has developed here as to just how far they can go without running afoul of antitrust laws. (The New York Times, February 8, 2011)
The Role of the State in Advancing Accountable Care
Lack of coordination, fragmentation, and disparities in the cost and quality of care are pervasive in the U.S. health system. As purchasers of health care, states are keenly aware of the need to create more coherent and value-driven systems of care through improved payment and delivery systems. The accountable care organization (ACO) model is a mechanism that can promote better value in health care spending
(The Commonwealth Fund, February 4, 2011)
Is Consolidation a Danger to Health Care Cost Control?
Beyond the legal challenges, a major new hurdle is emerging for the health care reform law. Recent studies show that the major players in the health care marketplace – insurers, hospitals and physician practices – are consolidating, which increases the likelihood they will collude on prices charged to employers and to consumers and defeat cost control measures in the law. (Fiscal Times, February 3, 2011)
Clinical Intergation Strategies for ACOs
Healthleaders Media Breakthroughs has released a new report detailing the experiences of four leading hospital systems (Monarch HealthCare, Sisters of St. Francis Hospital and Health Systems, The Nebraska Medical Center, and Palmetto Health) and their clinical integration strategies as they shape new ACOs. (Healthleaders Media, February 2, 2011)
Who needs to be included in an ACO? - (FiercePracticeManagement, Feb. 2, 2011)
Lessons from the Field: Making Accountable Care Organizations Real
(National Institute for Health Care Reform, Jan. 20, 2011)
FAQ On ACOs: Accountable Care Organizations, Explained
(Kaiser Health News, Jan. 11, 2011)
The Bridge to Accountable Care Organizations
In this HealthLeaders Media Breakthroughs report, leading hospital systems— Monarch HealthCare, Sisters of St. Francis Hospital and Health Systems, The Nebraska Medical Center, and Palmetto Health—share insights and lessons learned that will help you.
