Accountable Care

IRS: Commercial ACO Can’t Claim Charitable Tax Exemptions

by Catherine Sampson

An unnamed accountable care organization (ACO) will not be able to claim charitable tax exempt status since its role centered on facilitation instead of the provision of care, the IRS said in a...

MA Medicaid Proposes $1.5B Investment in Accountable Care

by Catherine Sampson

MassHealth, the combine management of Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs by the Commonwealth, is joining the accountable care movement by proposing a major $1.5 billion overhaul of its...

Rural Hospitals May Get Senate Help with Medicare Reimbursements

by Catherine Sampson

As the healthcare industry shifts from volume to value, hospitals are expected to provide quality care as many could also potentially face lower Medicare reimbursements. At the same time, many hospitals...

NAACOS Comments on Accountable Care Organizations Benchmarks

by Vera Gruessner

Last month, the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) submitted comments for the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN) Financial Benchmarking Draft White Paper. NAACOS takes on the...

Five Best Practices to Prepare for Value-Based Reimbursement

by Catherine Sampson

Accountable care organizations (ACO) hold the key to successfully implementing value-based care and receiving value-based reimbursement. However, delivering quality care while also preparing for...

Top 5 Ingredients of a Successful Accountable Care Organization

by Catherine Sampson

Because of the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare industry continues to move toward value-based care. As a result, Medicare has invested heavily in value-based reimbursement structures, such as...

Why Primary Care Matters in Medicare Shared Savings Program

by Vera Gruessner

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is moving forward with updating the rules and programs around accountable care organizations. The American Academy of Family Physicians  (AAFP)...

Hospital CEOs Share 3 Ways to Ensure Value-Based Care Success

by Jacqueline LaPointe

To support hospital revenue cycle management during the transition to accountable care, hospital executives are calling on their organizations to embrace the opportunities - and challenges - that come...

Is the Medicare Shared Savings Program Cutting Costs?

by Vera Gruessner

The Medicare Shared Savings Program has not, as of yet, reduced healthcare spending for the federal government. Along with the lack of cost savings within the Medicare-sponsored program, Kaiser Health...

Medicare Shared Savings Grows Among Burgeoning Payment Models

by Vera Gruessner

Since the healthcare industry has experienced rising costs over the years, providers and federal agencies have focused their energies on implementing new value-based payment models and healthcare...

Physician-Sponsored Accountable Care Organizations Succeed

by Vera Gruessner

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is constantly attempting to reform and modify current programs in order to achieve the Triple Aim of Healthcare – reduced medical costs,...

Providers Squeezed to Integrate Care Management Solutions

by Vera Gruessner

At this year’s HIMSS conference and exhibition, Chilmark Research released the 2016 Care Management Market Trends report, which outlines how the market is leaning on healthcare providers to create...

Accountable Care Organizations Responsible for Drug Spending

by Vera Gruessner

Accountable care organizations consist of a network in which payers, primary care physicians, and specialists work together to improve the health of a population. To dive deeper into one of the type of...

How Does Value-Based Reimbursement Affect Pediatric ACOs?

by Jacqueline DiChiara

Value-based reimbursement and pay-for-performance incentives are positively influencing pediatric accountable care organizations (ACOs), according to research from JAMA Pediatrics. The new future of...

CMS Proposes Changes to ACO Medicare Shared Savings Program

by Jacqueline DiChiara

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a proposed rule to improve performance incentives for accountable care organizations (ACOs) under the Medicare Shared Savings...

Why Did Experienced Accountable Care Organizations Fail?

by Jacqueline DiChiara

The Medicare Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) has proven it is able to manage larger performance-based financial risk levels. But some Pioneer ACOs dropped out when quality benchmarks were too...

Value-Based Incentives Enrich Accountable Care Organizations

by Jacqueline DiChiara

Pay-for-performance incentives positively sway physician behavior when it comes to value-based care advancement, according to a new JAMA Pediatrics study. Financial incentives tied to value-based...

Value-Based Care Models Still Pose Opportunities, Challenges

by Jacqueline DiChiara

The value-based care model is allegedly winning the claims reimbursement race, leaving its fee-for-service competitor in the dust. How valid is the widespread claim that value-based reimbursement models...

Why Accountable Care Organizations Need Revenue Cycle Risk

by Jacqueline DiChiara

Is the "Accountable" part of accountable care organizations being ignored? Over 100 new Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) participants will keep quality high and costs low, according to...

Do Accountable Care Organizations Save Claims Reimbursement?

by Jacqueline DiChiara

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are reportedly being penalized for high revenue cycle management performance. Healthcare providers looking to manage their claims reimbursement strategies remain...