On Monday, July 9, 2012, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Cornerstone Health Care, PA, of High Point and Cone Health affiliate Triad Healthcare Network, LLC, of Greensboro, along with 87 other health care organizations across the country, are now participating as Accountable Care Organizations in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Shared Saving Program. These organizations will work together to provide care to Medicare patients. To view the statement released by CMS, click here.

To date, there are 154 organizations participating in Medicare accountable care initiatives. The Shared Savings Program is designed to improve beneficiary outcomes and increase value of care by:

• Promoting accountability for the care of Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) beneficiaries;
• Requiring coordinated care for all services provided under Medicare FFS;
• Encouraging investment in infrastructure and redesigned care processes.

Participation in these initiatives is voluntary and promotes more patient-centered, coordinated care. 313 Cornerstone physicians will participate. Meanwhile, 759 Triad Healthcare individual and hospital-employed physicians also will take part. 

As accountable care continues to grow, it is important that physicians fully understand and become more involved in these efforts. For those who are interested in participating in these programs, CMS will be holding a call for health care professionals on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 1:30 – 3:00 pm that will provide an overview and updates to the Shared Savings Program application and Advance Payment Model application. Click here to register for the call.

To learn more about the North Carolina Medical Society’s (NCMS) accountable care efforts, visit the Toward Accountable Care portion of the NCMS website. In the coming weeks, the Society will be introducing its Toward Accountable Care Consortium, a partnership between North Carolina medical societies and other health care organizations committed to informing and educating physicians about accountable care. Look for upcoming Bulletin publications for more information.

Related Bulletin articles:
Accountable Care Resources for You (5-22-12)
Accountable Care Gaining Momentum in North Carolina (4-13-12)