Medical Home Network's Award-Winning ACO Will Continue to Serve Chicago-Area Safety Net Patients through 2021

In contract extension, Medical Home Network ACO takes financial risk and redesigns care for Medicaid beneficiaries

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Jun 13, 2019, 15:54 ET

CHICAGO, June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Cook County Health extended its contract with Medical Home Network's Accountable Care Organization (MHN ACO) to provide high-quality managed health care to approximately 120,000 Medicaid patients, MHN ACO announced today. The contract shifts additional financial accountability to MHN ACO, ensuring Cook County Health (CCH) is rewarded for its high quality care and outcomes for its patients.

MHN ACO will take financial risk while continuing to be responsible clinically to provide patients with better care through the use of coordinated care management at the practice level. This focus on whole person care is possible because of the team-based, patient-centered model of care powered by innovative technology.

"The Medical Home Network ACO model of care enabled by technology is working. Cook County Health is a valued partner in this effort and we are pleased this contract renewal recognizes the remarkable results we have achieved together. We look forward to continuing to drive care innovation and improve patient engagement while lowering costs," said Cheryl Lulias, Medical Home Network ACO CEO.

Cook County Health's decision to extend its transformative partnership with MHN ACO is a confirmation of success for patients in one of the nation's largest and most progressive managed care programs and a model for how public-private partnerships can improve health outcomes.

In its 4.5-year partnership with CCH, MHN ACO produced healthier patients while lowering total costs of care through comprehensive care management focused on whole person care supported by Medical Home Network's proprietary technology and dedicated care manager teams.

"Our partnership with Medical Home Network ACO has proven invaluable to CCH and the patients we serve," said Dr. Jay Shannon, CEO of Cook County Health. "The model of care, powered by Medical Home Network's technology is allowing us to deliver better, more efficient care to patients at lower costs as we strive to transform healthcare."

Medical Home Network pioneered an innovative, patient-centered, team-based model that is transforming care delivery to safety net patients. Medical Home Network's industry-leading care model is supported by technology that virtually connects disparate providers with real-time alerts, historical data, and behavioral and social determinants.

Medical Home Network's ACO, including nine Federally Qualified Health Centers, three hospital systems, and their physician practices, is one of the most successful managed care partnerships with CCH, outperforming other provider groups. MHN ACO's focus on whole person care accounts for a patient's medical history and social determinants impacting their health.

Within the Cook County Medicaid population Medical Home Network serves:

Medical Home Network's care managers have engaged 89 percent of its members/patients in care management.
Medical Home Network's innovative care management focus on social risk determinants resulted in a 37.4% reduction in total social risk factors impacting health.
MHN ACO self-funded a roll out of an evidence-based approach to enhancing behavioral health access for our population. 20% of engaged patients in the Collaborative Care Program achieved full remission from depression.

The renewed contract extends the partnership with MHN ACO and Cook County Health through 2021.

About Medical Home Network

Medical Home Network is transforming health care delivery for Medicaid patients by fostering collaboration and innovation. Our proven model of care unites communities of providers and patients around a common goal: To redesign health care delivery and transform the way care is delivered and managed, resulting in improved patient care, lower costs and better health in the communities we serve. MHN can be found online at www.MedicalHomeNetwork.org and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/medical-home-network.

About Medical Home Network Accountable Care Organization

Medical Home Network Accountable Care Organization (MHN ACO) is a provider-owned and driven approach to patient-centered healthcare delivery and population health management for Medicaid patients. Our members include nine Federally Qualified Health Centers, three Hospital Systems, and their Physician Practices. Within our ACO we strive to create a different kind of culture – one that includes shared decision-making and is focused on change, innovation, collaboration and delivery improvement for all our member/owners. For more information, visit www.mhnaco.org.

About Cook County Health (CCH)

One of the largest public health systems in the nation, the Cook County Health (CCH) serves as the safety net for health care in Chicago and suburban Cook County. CCH is comprised of two hospitals, a robust network of more than a dozen community health centers, the Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center, the Cook County Department of Public Health, Cermak Health Services, which provides health care to individuals at the Cook County Jail and the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, and CountyCare, a Medicaid managed care health plan. The system cares for more than 300,000 patients each year and its physicians are experts in their fields, committed to providing their patients with comprehensive, compassionate and cutting-edge care. Today, CCH is transforming the provision of health care in Cook County by promoting community-based primary and preventive care, growing an innovative, collaborative health plan, enhancing the patient experience and addressing social determinants of health. www.cookcountyhealth.org.

SOURCE Medical Home Network