A new program that will help physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers work together to improve care for people with Medicare is off to a strong start, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today.
Under the new Medicare Shared Savings Program ... 27 Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have entered into agreements with CMS, taking responsibility for the quality of care furnished to people with Medicare in return for the opportunity to share in savings realized through improved care. The Shared Savings Program and other initiatives related to Accountable Care Organizations are made possible by the Affordable Care Act, the health care law of 2010. Participation in an ACO is purely voluntary for providers and beneficiaries and people with Medicare retain their current ability to seek treatment from any provider they wish.
The first 27 Shared Savings Program ACOs will serve an estimated 375,000 beneficiaries in 18 States. This brings the total number of organizations participating Medicare shared savings initiatives on April 1 to 65 ...
Anyone who has multiple doctors may have experienced the frustration of fragmented and disconnected care: lost or unavailable medical charts, trouble scheduling an appointment or talking to a doctor, duplicated medical procedures, or having to share the same information over and over with different doctors.
Accountable Care Organizations are designed to lift this burden from patients, while improving care and reducing costs. The Shared Savings Program was created by the Affordable Care Act after a number of efforts in the private sector showed that improving care can lead to lower costs. The selected ACOs include more than 10,000 physicians, 10 hospitals, and 13 smaller physician-driven organizations in both urban and rural areas. Their models for coordinating care and improving quality vary in response to the needs of the beneficiaries in the areas they are serving. CMS is reviewing more than 150 applications from ACOs seeking to enter the program in July.
To ensure that savings are achieved through improving and providing care that is appropriate, safe, and timely, an ACO must meet strict quality standards. For 2012, CMS has established 33 quality measures relating to care coordination and patient safety, appropriate use of preventive health services, improved care for at-risk populations, and the patient and caregiver experience of care.
CMS also announced today that five ACOs are participating in the Advance Payment ACO Model beginning April 1. This model will provide advance payment of expected shared savings to rural and physician-based ACOs participating in the Shared Savings Program that would benefit from additional start-up resources. These resources will help build the necessary care coordination infrastructure necessary to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, such as new staff or information technology systems. CMS is reviewing more than 50 applications for Advance Payments that start in July.
To learn more about the ACOs announced on April 10, visit: http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp
For more information on the Advanced Payment ACO Model, including the participating ACOs, visit: http://innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/ACO/Advance-Payment/.
As a reminder, care teams (to care for patients with chronic conditions) are being organized in Medical Home models, which fall under the umbrella of ACOs. ACOs, accountable care and shared savings are for eye care too.
Alistair Jackson, M.Ed.
As a reminder, care teams (to care for patients with chronic conditions) are being organized in Medical Home models, which fall under the umbrella of ACOs. ACOs, accountable care and shared savings are for eye care too.
Alistair Jackson, M.Ed.
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