One of the great aspects of the Medicare Shared Savings Program is that it provides an important opportunity directly to physicians, said Louis Morgenier, chief executive officer of Physicians ACO, LLC.
One of the great aspects of the Medicare Shared Savings Program is that it provides an important opportunity directly to physicians, said Louis Morgenier, chief executive officer of Physicians ACO, LLC.
Transcript (slightly modified for readability)
What have we learned from the Medicare Shared Savings Program so far?
It’s a great program and Medicare is making great strides in introducing it across the country. I think with this round of applications there will be something like 660 ACOs. At last count I think there were 440 last year with some 20% of Medicare beneficiaries being assigned to ACOs and the head of Medicare says there should be 50% of Medicare beneficiaries assigned to an ACO by 2018, which I think is an incredible accomplishment by CMS.
I think that they’re giving directly to physicians a great opportunity, particularly to primary care physicians, to help to control the costs of patient expenditures for Medicare fee-for-service and it’s nice that they’re not giving it to some Wall Street company or to some insurance company. They’re giving the opportunity directly to physicians. For example, some of them I’ve put together, they have a total benchmark of a couple hundred million dollars, and we have say 12,000 or 15,000 patients. And Medicare is just giving us that business and handing it to us on our lap. It’s really a phenomenal opportunity.
Furthermore, it’s only one-sided risk to get started if you’d like to. I think it’s a great opportunity so that if you save money, you can get half of it. Of course, you know if you hit quality measures on your second year and things such as that. But overall I think it’s a really great opportunity.
Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
Listen
Commonwealth Fund Report Details Pervasive Racial and Ethnic Disparities in US Health Care, Outcomes
April 18th 2024Using 25 health system performance indicators, the Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report evaluated racial and ethnic disparities in health care and health outcomes both within and across US states and highlighted the urgent need for equitable health care policies and practices in the US.
Read More
Making Giant Strides in Maternity Health Through Baby Steps
April 9th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.
Listen
The Biden administration recently launched the Global Health Security Strategy, a new effort to combat the spread of infectious diseases; lawmakers zeroed in on the risks of massive consolidation in health care during the first congressional hearing on the Change Healthcare hack; the FDA recently announced the recall of a pair of heart devices linked to numerous deaths and injuries.
Read More