New Affordable Care Act tools and payment models deliver $372 million in savings, improve care

Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs and Pioneer ACO Model show continued quality of care improvements and additional Medicare savings

News provided by

Memorial Hermann Health System

Sep 19, 2014, 01:44 ET

HOUSTON, Sept. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week issued quality and financial performance results showing that Medicare Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) have improved patient care and produced hundreds of millions of dollars in savings for the program.

In addition to providing more Americans with access to quality, affordable health care, the Affordable Care Act encourages doctors, hospitals and other health care providers to work together to better coordinate care and keep people healthy rather than treat them when they are sick, which also helps to reduce health care costs. ACOs are one example of the innovative ways to improve care and reduce costs. In an ACO, providers who join these groups become eligible to share savings with Medicare when they deliver that care more efficiently.

ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (Shared Savings Program) and Pioneer ACO Model generated over $372 million in total program savings for Medicare ACOs. The encouraging news comes from preliminary quality and financial results from the second year of performance for 23 Pioneer ACOs, and final results from the first year of performance for 220 Shared Savings Program ACOs.

Meanwhile, the ACOs outperformed published benchmarks for quality and patient experience last year and improved significantly on almost all measures of quality and patient experience this year. (Please see the accompanying fact sheet for additional details.)

"We all have a stake in improving the quality of care we receive, while spending our dollars more wisely," Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell said. "It's good for businesses, for our middle class, and for our country's global competitiveness. That's why at HHS we are committed to partnering across sectors to make progress."

Memorial Hermann Accountable Care Organization is eligible to share in savings. "A collaborative program like this is second nature to Memorial Hermann," said Chris Lloyd, CEO of Memorial Hermann ACO. "Our Clinically Integrated network, which we launched in 2007, was focused on bringing together high quality physicians who collaborate to provide the best clinical outcomes to our patients. When the ACO model was announced, we were already ahead of the game. We had an established group of physicians with access to innovative technology working together to ensure high quality outcomes at the lowest cost possible."

Since passage of the Affordable Care Act, more than 360 Medicare ACOs have been established in 47 states, serving over 5.6 million Americans with Medicare. Medicare ACOs are groups of providers and suppliers of services that work together to coordinate care for the Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) beneficiaries they serve and achieve program goals.

Additional Resources

Visit the Medicare Shared Savings Program website to learn more about the program, and for information on ACOs and ACO participants including available financial and quality performance results for ACOs.

HHS Press Release: New Affordable Care Act tools and payment models deliver $372 million in savings, improve care.

Fact Sheet: Medicare ACOs continue to succeed in improving care, lowering cost growth.

Fact Sheet: Delivering Better Care at Lower Cost.

Secretary's Blog: Getting More Out of Every Dollar: Improving Health Delivery in America.

About Memorial Hermann
An integrated health system, Memorial Hermann is known for world-class clinical expertise, patient-centered care, leading edge technology, and innovation. The system, with its exceptional medical staff and more than 20,000 employees, serves to advance health in Southeast Texas and the Greater Houston community. Memorial Hermann's 12 hospitals include three hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, including the Texas Trauma Institute – a level I trauma center which houses the Life Flight® air ambulance – a hospital for children and a rehabilitation hospital, eight suburban hospitals, and a second rehabilitation hospital in Katy. The system also operates three Heart & Vascular Institutes, the Mischer Neuroscience Institute, three Ironman Sports Medicine Institute locations, cancer centers, imaging and surgery centers, sports medicine and rehabilitation centers, outpatient laboratories, a chemical dependency treatment center, a home health agency, a retirement community and a nursing home. As an Accountable Care Organization, the system also offers employers health solutions and health benefit plans through Memorial Hermann Health Insurance Company.