Week in Review: Top ACOs Signal Savings and Success
Top ACOs Signal Savings and Success
Thursday, July 18th
 
Dear Members and Friends:

This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced first year results from an important program created by the Affordable Care Act -- Pioneer Accountable Care Organizations (ACO). Back in May 2012, 32 organizations were selected to participate in this initiative, which is unique and innovative for aligning payment and care delivery innovations.

Acknowledging the importance of the patient-centered medical home model, organizations were selected based on their experience in providing coordinated, patient-centered care. Of the 32 organizations, 13 produced gross savings of over $87 million, in addition to quality improvements across all the participants. To learn more about the study results read through the article below, and for a PCPCC case study that highlights the importance of the medical home in a Shared Savings ACO model, click here.

Finally, we continue our month-long dedication to behavioral health this month, which included the release of our new case study: Behavioral Health and Pediatrics: Connecting Patients, Families, and Caregivers through Health IT.  We also encourage you to join us next Thursday at 11AM for our National Briefing, led by experts from HealthTeamWorks, who will share lessons learned from primary care practices that have made great strides in co-locating mental health services.

We look forward to having you join us!
 
Sincerely,

Marci Nielsen, PhD, MPH
Chief Executive Officer 
 
Medical Home in the Veterans Administration: Tracking Progress
A new report from the American Journal of Managed Care provides an evaluation of the Veterans Health Administration's (VHA) medical home program, the largest integrated US health system to implement the model, providing primary care for more than 5 million patients nationwide.

The data shows that in-person primary care visit rates slightly decreased, while increases were seen in non-traditional visits, such as phone encounters, enhanced personal health record use, and electronic messaging to providers.  The findings also demonstrated improvement in post-hospitalization follow-up and home telemonitoring after enhancements to care coordination processes.

Click here for the study.
 
LA Times Highlights Filling the Mental Health Gap through the ACA
Kimberly Eckford, 49, nervously rubs her hands together while speaking about depression for the first time. Photo credit: Gina Ferazzi / LA Times
With half of California's adults and two-thirds of adolescents with mental illness not getting treatment, new research from the California Healthcare Foundation finds that low-income and disabled residents will have greater access to mental health services through the new health care law.

Highlighted in a recent LA Times article, the Foundation estimates that expansion of Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, will extend coverage to an additional 125,000 state residents who need mental health services. In addition, the launch of new health insurance marketplaces will include mental health coverage.

Click here for the article.
Heads up!:  The Week in Review will not be published during the month of August, nor will the PCPCC hold a Monthly National Briefing. We will resume a regular schedule in September and focus on Population Health.
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First Year Results for Pioneer ACOs Indicate Savings & Quality Improvement
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced first year results from the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program. They include significant cost and quality achievements, driven mainly by reductions in hospital admissions and readmissions.

13 out of 32 pioneer ACOs produced shared savings, which generated gross savings of $87.6 million in 2012. The ACOs also demonstrated improvements in quality of care for patients and families, including lower readmission rates, improvement in blood pressure and LDL control for diabetic patients.

Click here for CMS press release.
National Briefing:
Primary Care and Behavioral Health Integration

Thursday, July 25  l  11 AM - Noon EST
Click here for dial-in information.
Join us for a presentation that will highlight lessons learned and experiences from primary care practices, including the Colorado Multi-Payer Pilot, and their achievements in co-locating mental health services and primary care.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT... Click here for last week's webinar which featured a review of the Massachusetts Medical Home's "Behavioral Health Integration Toolkit."
Upcoming Events
July 18- Aug 31






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