Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network, a subsidiary of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System, achieved $16.6 million in shared savings in performance year 2019 as part of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’s (CMS’s) accountable care organization (ACO) initiative called the Next Generation ACO Model.
"As the only Next Generation ACO in the state of Louisiana, we are excited to see the progress made after just two years to advance the care we provide to Medicare beneficiaries,” said Richard Vath, MD, chief executive officer of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System. “In year one we saw savings of $4.9 million, so to jump so much in just one year is incredible and a testament to the dedication our team has put behind this program.”
The Next Generation ACO Model, in its fourth year, allows for setting more predictable financial targets, gives patients more opportunities to manage their own health through technology and enables providers to better coordinate care across the entire continuum. Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network is comprised of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System and Baton Rouge Clinic providers.
"The goal of coordinated care through an ACO is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors," said Christopher Funes, MD, president of Health Leaders Network. "We've seen first-hand how this Model achieves those goals and provides more flexibility to improve the patient experience, improve outcomes and control escalating costs of healthcare. It's a win for everyone involved--patients, providers and payors."
In performance year 2019, Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network received a 97.75 percent overall quality performance score. The organization’s quality and total cost of care results put Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network in the top quartile of all organizations participating in the Next Generation ACO model across the country.
"As we continue to innovate and make progress on our value-based care journey, improving outcomes and increasing the quality of care for seniors is most important to us and the patients we serve," Vath said. "I am proud of the collaboration and progress on behalf of the State of Louisiana and the 21,000 lives covered by this Model."
Medicare ACO are comprised of groups of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers and suppliers who come together voluntarily to provide coordinated, high-quality care at lower costs to their Original Fee-for-Service (FFS) Medicare patients. Health Leaders Medicare ACO Network manages the health of approximately 21,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
The Next Generation ACO Model advances CMS’s goals , announced in 2015, to move an increasing percentage of Medicare payments into models that pay providers based on the quality rather than the quantity of care they provide patients. When an ACO succeeds both in delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars more wisely, it will share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program.