July 17, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
The July 16 announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that nine of the 32 patient care organizations participating in the Pioneer ACO Shared Savings Program were leaving the Pioneer program, with two of them leaving the Medicare Shared Savings Program altogether, was cause for reflective pause. But is the glass half-empty or half-full in this case?
July 16, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal and Mark Hagland
news
Seven Pioneer accountable care organizations (ACOs) that did not produce savings in the first year of the Pioneer program will switch to another ACO model--the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP)--and two others in the Pioneer program will abandon Medicare accountable care models altogether, according to an announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
July 11, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
UnitedHealthcare, the Minnetonka, Minn.-based health insurer, has announced that it expects to more than double its number of accountable care health plan contracts in the next five years.
July 8, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
A new poll conducted by the American College of Physician Executives (ACPE) reveals that the trend of physician integration may drive up costs, rather than decrease it through increased efficiency and streamlining care. Thirty-two percent of the 459 organizations surveyed said the costs of delivering healthcare went up after a hospital or health system bought a group or practice.
July 2, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
Seton Health Alliance (SHA), Central Texas' first accountable care organization (ACO), and UnitedHealthcare are collaborating to provide coordinated health care to Central Texas residents enrolled in UnitedHealthcare's employer-sponsored health plans.
June 27, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
Aetna and the 19-hospital Bon Secours Health System, based in Marriottsville, Md., have announced a new accountable care agreement that will support 57,000 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries in Kentucky, New York, South Carolina and Virginia.
June 20, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
According to the survey of physicians and healthcare professionals, more than half (53 percent) of respondents currently participate in an accountable care organization (ACO), patient-centered medical home (PCMH), or other risk-based or shared savings programs.
May 17, 2013 John DeGaspari
article
During the afternoon breakout session at the HCI Executive Summit, Simon Jones, director, ACO IT and program strategy at Blue Shield of California, discussed the health plan’s experience in the ACO arena. Jones noted that healthcare is on an unsustainable path: there is no sustainable approach to reducing costs and improving care, and incentives do not promote a long-term, system-wide approach.
May 16, 2013 John DeGaspari
article
In a Thursday session at the HCI Executive Summit, Paul Katz, founder and CEO of Intelligent Systems, said now is the time for healthcare providers to take advantage of the explosion of data.
May 3, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
Razor-thin reimbursements, conflicting priorities and strained resources are the main challenges health systems face as they struggle to manage post-acute care effectively, according to the latest report from Orem, Ut.-based KLAS Research, “Post-Acute Care Perception 2013: High Hopes and Big Plans.”
April 26, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
A partnership designed to improve care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries in southeast Michigan, while making the best use of Medicare dollars, has expanded.
March 18, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
Approximately 71 million Americans in private health insurance plans received coverage for at least one free preventive healthcare service, such as a mammogram or flu shot, in 2011 and 2012 because of the Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in an announcement. The new data was released in a report from HHS on March 18.