Value-Based Care News

Number of Accountable Care Organizations Continue to Rise

Accountable care organizations partnerships form in Arizona, Texas and Mississippi in 2016.

By Catherine Sampson

- The number of accountable care organizations (ACOs) continue to increase across the county. Earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced 121 new Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) participants. Between 105 and 176 million patients may be covered through an ACO by 2020, a previous report noted.

ACOs are on the rise.

ACO Partner emerges from McKesson and Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona

This week, McKesson Business Performance Services (McKesson) announced in a press release that it has partnered with Blue Cross Blue Shield Arizona (BCBSAZ) to form a risk-sharing joint venture known as ACO Partner. This new ACO hopes to achieve the Triple Aim of improved patient experience, improved health of the population, and reduced cost of care.

ACO Partner plans on leveraging McKesson’s physician engagement, care management, technology and population health services. The organization also plans on making contracts with payers and providers across the nation to improve healthcare quality and lower costs.

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    • Both BCBSAZ and McKesson have made investments to support infrastructure developments. These developments are geared toward supporting collaboration between providers and payers.

    “For physicians and health systems, McKesson’s services will help ease their burden as they become active participants in value-based care,” said John Wallace, McKesson’s National Vice President and General Manager of Accountable Care Services, said in a press release.

    “For payers, ACO Partner will help support improved outcomes and cost efficiencies by educating patients about high-quality, lower cost care, and by improving coordination and collaboration between providers,” Wallace said.

    Wallace also said that ACO Partner can assist providers with the practical components of value-based care, such as care management, population health management and patient engagement.

    McKesson is a healthcare services and information technology company, while BCBSAZ offers health insurance and related services to almost 1.5 million individuals.

    Innovista and East Texas Regional Accountable Care Collaborative join forces

    In February 2016, Innovista Health Solutions (Innovista) announced a new partnership with East Texas Regional Accountable Care Collaborative (ETRACC). 

    “ETRACC joins the growing Texas market of independent provider organizations that have selected Innovista as their population heath management service partner,” a press release stated.

    At the time of the partnership, ETRACC had 60 primary-care providers. In Texas, Innnovista comprises 500 physicians.

    Aledade partnered with Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians

    In January 2016, Aledade partnered with the Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP). At that time, Aledade announced that it would work with MAFP to operate a Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO. With this partnership, Aledade continues to focus on helping primary care physicians succeed in a value-based healthcare system, the organization said in a blog.

    “Our focus is on delivering the highest-quality care to patients, with an emphasis on preventative care, high-value referral networks, customized technology, and unmatched analysis of patient claims and electronic health record (EHR) data to identify patients who need help before serious medical problems arise,” Aledade said.

    For this partnership, MAFP provides direct support to help practices within the ACO implement and enhance care coordination. MAFP’s staff also provides educational resources to help members understand aspects of population health.

    “The combination of top-level practices, MAFP’s resources, and Aledade’s custom technology, policy and regulatory expertise, and practice transformation experience will give independent primary care physicians the opportunity to be leaders in the healthcare transformation to value-based care,” Aledade said.

    MAFP had about 1,016 members, including physicians, residents, and medical students at the time of partnership. Aledade’s Mississippi ACO includes physicians from the state and Memphis area as well as physician members from MAFP.