Mercy Health today announced that Mercy Health Select, its accountable care organization (ACO), created $51.1 million in savings for its Medicare population in 2022, representing an overall reduction in health care spend to taxpayers.
The Mercy Health Select ACO provides high-quality care while reducing costs for its 59,578 beneficiaries in Ohio and Kentucky through a collaboration of hospitals and providers.
Mercy Health Select was accepted to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), a multifaceted program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2011 and has remained in the program since, moving to a downside risk track in 2016. It currently participates in the Enhanced track of the MSSP, which is the highest level of downside risk, but also shares the greatest portion of savings if successful.
“Since 2011, Mercy Health Select ACO has invested resources to improve the quality of care for patients and reduce costs in a variety of ways, including care coordination, preventive health campaigns, closing health care gaps, providing timely access to physicians and reducing duplication of services,” said Jean Haynes, Bon Secours Mercy Health chief population health officer and president of Mercy Health Select. “We are focused on pushing our quality even higher while further lowering costs using innovation and compassion to meet the changing needs of our patients and the communities we serve.”
ACO and MSSP models are among strategies CMS employs to lower Medicare spending and keep the Medicare program sustainable for the long term.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reward ACOs for improving quality of care and reducing costs. Success depends on hospitals, physicians and other clinicians encouraging Medicare patients to maintain their health through better habits, including taking medication as prescribed, in order to prevent unnecessary emergency room visits and preventable hospitalizations.
Mercy Health Select’s other notable achievements from CMS’s 2022 report include:
· Shared savings of $37.5 million
· A savings rate of 7.14%, far surpassing the .5% minimum savings rate
These results mark MHS’ most successful year since beginning participation in the MSSP. Bon Secours Mercy Health’s (the parent company of Mercy Health) three ACOs created a combined $66.3 million in savings for CMS in 2022 and earned $43.5M in shared savings. Through continued investment in our Population Health infrastructure and pursuit of alternative payment models, we are achieving better health for individuals, creating improved population health, and keeping health care costs lower. This benefits our patients, providers, and our ministry as a whole. These savings are used to:
· Advance care coordination
· Provide preventive health care
· Reduce duplicative services and testing
· Grow a high-quality provider network
· Offer infrastructure and support for our providers
“It is only through the commitment and engagement of our ACO providers and their care teams, supported by our governance structure and our Population Health Service Organization that we were able to achieve these incredible results. Thank you to everyone who played a part in the commitment to value-based care – increasing quality, lowering cost and providing a better patient experience,” said Haynes
The Mercy Health Select ACO provides high-quality care while reducing costs for its 59,578 beneficiaries in Ohio and Kentucky through a collaboration of hospitals and providers.
Mercy Health Select was accepted to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), a multifaceted program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2011 and has remained in the program since, moving to a downside risk track in 2016. It currently participates in the Enhanced track of the MSSP, which is the highest level of downside risk, but also shares the greatest portion of savings if successful.
“Since 2011, Mercy Health Select ACO has invested resources to improve the quality of care for patients and reduce costs in a variety of ways, including care coordination, preventive health campaigns, closing health care gaps, providing timely access to physicians and reducing duplication of services,” said Jean Haynes, Bon Secours Mercy Health chief population health officer and president of Mercy Health Select. “We are focused on pushing our quality even higher while further lowering costs using innovation and compassion to meet the changing needs of our patients and the communities we serve.”
ACO and MSSP models are among strategies CMS employs to lower Medicare spending and keep the Medicare program sustainable for the long term.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reward ACOs for improving quality of care and reducing costs. Success depends on hospitals, physicians and other clinicians encouraging Medicare patients to maintain their health through better habits, including taking medication as prescribed, in order to prevent unnecessary emergency room visits and preventable hospitalizations.
Mercy Health Select’s other notable achievements from CMS’s 2022 report include:
· Shared savings of $37.5 million
· A savings rate of 7.14%, far surpassing the .5% minimum savings rate
These results mark MHS’ most successful year since beginning participation in the MSSP. Bon Secours Mercy Health’s (the parent company of Mercy Health) three ACOs created a combined $66.3 million in savings for CMS in 2022 and earned $43.5M in shared savings. Through continued investment in our Population Health infrastructure and pursuit of alternative payment models, we are achieving better health for individuals, creating improved population health, and keeping health care costs lower. This benefits our patients, providers, and our ministry as a whole. These savings are used to:
· Advance care coordination
· Provide preventive health care
· Reduce duplicative services and testing
· Grow a high-quality provider network
· Offer infrastructure and support for our providers
“It is only through the commitment and engagement of our ACO providers and their care teams, supported by our governance structure and our Population Health Service Organization that we were able to achieve these incredible results. Thank you to everyone who played a part in the commitment to value-based care – increasing quality, lowering cost and providing a better patient experience,” said Haynes