Getting a grasp of what tomorrow's healthcare system looks like is important to Cooley Dickinson Hospital's search for a partner. The following articles help you understand the term Accountable Care Organziation (ACO) and how this trend is shaping the future of healthcare.
Locally
Health care's new wave: Shift from treating sickness to ensuring health
NORTHAMPTON - When Cooley Dickinson Hospital and its physicians group inked a deal last fall with Blue Cross Blue Shield to launch a new way of paying for medical care, it joined the vanguard of a movement that many believe will reshape health care in America.
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Some see similarities with unpopular managed care
NORTHAMPTON - Not everyone is enthusiastically behind the global payment plan model for health care, either out of fear of the unknown or because the model looks a lot like the HMO-managed care plans of the 1990s.
The Massachusetts Medical Society, for example, reported that only 59 percent of physicians indicated they would participate in voluntary accountable care organizations, according to its annual "Physician Workforce Study" last fall.
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In one patient's home: Powering a new self-reliance
NORTHAMPTON - Polly Peterson is a frequent flier to Cooley Dickinson Hospital, though that's a label she is beginning to shed.
Over eight months last year, the Northampton woman was sent to hospital a dozen times for complications of congestive heart failure.
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Large health system in western massachusetts becomes the latest to join the alternative quality contract
BOSTON – October 27, 2011 – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) today announced that Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) and Cooley Dickinson Physician Hospital Organization (CDPHO), based in Northampton, Mass., will join BCBSMA’s innovative payment system known as the Alternative Quality Contract (AQC) effective January 1, 2012. Introduced in 2009, the AQC is a modified global payment model designed to slow the growth in health care spending and improve patient care by helping physicians and hospitals emphasize quality and value over volume.
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In Massachusetts
Understanding accountable health care organizations
More than 150,000 seniors in Eastern Massachusetts who are enrolled in traditional Medicare plans have received a letter in the mail - or will soon - informing them that their doctors are part of a newfangled health care system. Each accountable care organization, or ACO, is aimed at making sure patients get "the right care, in the right place, at the right time,'' the letter says.
It's likely that few, if any, know just what an ACO is. Until recently, many health policy experts were hard-pressed to explain exactly how the new health care model, formalized under the Affordable Care Act and launched by Medicare on Jan. 1, would work.
→ Continue reading on Boston.com
Mass. bill would create ACO regulations, IT council
Legislation backed by Massachusetts' governor would create regulation for accountable care organizations and establish a health information technology council.
→ Continue reading PDF from ModernHealthCare.com
MA Inches Toward ACO Model
Massachusetts, the first state to adopt near-universal healthcare coverage is out in front of healthcare reform once again. This time, the idea is to revamp the reimbursement system for physicians and hospitals, from the current fee-for service model to a global payments model (aka bundled payments). This is a key step toward adoption of the accountable care organization model, which is getting a lot of attention from both providers and payers, even though it is still loosely defined and largely untested.
→ Continue reading on HealthLeadersMedia.com
A Massachusetts milestone: health care payment reform legislation
Yesterday marked a health care milestone in Massachusetts which I’m particularly pleased to blog about: Governor Patrick announced comprehensive health care payment and delivery reform legislation that is designed to control rising health care costs and improve patient care throughout the Commonwealth.
→ Continue reading on Mass.gov and → Read updates on the status of the legislation here
In the United States
FAQ On ACOs: Accountable Care Organizations, Explained
Accountable care organizations take up only seven pages of the massive new health law yet have become one of the most talked about provisions. This latest model for delivering services offers doctors and hospitals financial incentives to provide good quality care to Medicare beneficiaries while keeping down costs. A cottage industry of consultants has sprung up to help even ordinary hospitals become the first ACOs on the block.
→ Continue reading on Kaiser Health News
Primer: What Is An ACO And Why Should I Care?
ACOs are hot. They were the topic of a major federal meeting yesterday. Today they are on the agenda of the Massachusetts panel that’s charged with revamping the health care payment system. Another state panel has already recommended heading toward them. They are causing many concerns. Your health care organization may try to become one. So what are they?
→ Continue reading on WBUR.org