Accountable Care Organizations and Home Care
Fast Facts ACOs Webinar
View the free online recording of the April 13, 2011 session.
Download the handout for this session.
Home Care Outcomes ACOs Will Value:
- Top third composite Home Health Compare scores.
- Top third in HHCAHPS scores.
- Top third in lowest re-hospitalization rates in your service area.
- Top third in lowest cost/visit in your service area.
Services That Position Your Agency for ACOs
Operational Review: Learn your strengths. Learn your weaknesses. Get concrete best practice recommendations for changes you can make in your process, practices, structure, staffing, productivity, etc. that will lead to the four outcomes ACOs will value.
Operational Implementation: Accelerate the changes you need to make. Professional support to help you make the right changes in the right manner to get the right results. Get the support you need to achieve the outcomes you need.
Accelerated Strategic Planning: Get a full analysis of your environment including an analysis of ACO activities and opportunities. A facilitated process that gives you the buy-in you need for changes and a clear plan that clarifies exactly what you are going to do, who will lead it, the timelines for the activities, and how success will be measured. This is a fast track effort.
Accountable Care Organization: A group of health care providers who give coordinated care, chronic disease management, and thereby improve the quality of care patients get. The organization's payment is tied to achieving health care quality goals and outcomes that result in cost savings. (Source: HealthCare.gov)
To read Fazzi's letter to CMS with comments on the ACO Draft Regulations, click here.
Resources and Links
A CMS fact sheet including “What is an ACO?”
This fact sheet describes the proposals to ensure that ACOs provide high-quality care, including proposed quality measures, and a proposed method for scoring the performance of the ACO for purposes of the Medicare Shared Savings Program.
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Proposed Rule from Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Medicare Program; Medicare Shared Savings Program: Accountable Care Organizations
The proposed rule is a lengthy 429 page document but worth reading (or skimming!).
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U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General
OIG guidance related to ACOs under the Affordable Care Act with additional resources.
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Affordable Care Act to Improve Quality of Care for People with Medicare
News release by Department of Health & Human Services
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Accountable Care Organizations: Improving Care Coordination for People with Medicare
More about ACOs and Shared Savings from HealthCare.gov
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Health Care: How did we get here?
Brief history of the development of health care reform bill.
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States and the Affordable Care Act: More Funding, More Flexibility
Resources allocated to state governments from the Affordable Care Act.
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You may also find the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation website of interest. The Innovation Center was established by the Affordable Care Act. Your agency can also join the Partnership for Patients. Fazzi Associates did!
Fast Facts ACOs Webinar
Understanding ACOs: What are they?
What do they mean for home care agencies?
What you should do about them…now!
Recorded on Wednesday, April 13, 2011.
View the free online recording of the April 13, 2011 session.
Download the handout for this session.
The national movement toward the development of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) is moving into high gear. On March 31, 2011, CMS issued its highly anticipated draft rules (400+ pages) for Accountable Care Organizations, a Medicare Shared Savings Program.
ACOs have the potential to become the foundation for the future of all health care, including home care. According to CMS, its goal is to “create incentives for health care providers to work together to treat an individual patient across care settings – including doctor’s offices, hospitals, long-term care,” and other post-acute settings, including home care. There are financial rewards (i.e., shared savings) for ACOs that meet quality standards and penalties for those that don’t.
Where is Home Care?
ACO systems and collaborations are being formed now. Home care agencies must figure out if and how they can be involved. Will you be a true partner? A niche player? Or simply a last choice referral source? Agencies leaders need to act now, but first you need to understand what is happening. Fazzi’s Fast Facts Webinar answers three questions:
1. What are ACOs?
2. What do the formation of ACOs mean to your agency?
3. What should you do about it internally and externally?
Presented by:
Dr. Bob Fazzi, Founder and Managing Partner of Fazzi Associates, Lead researcher on ACOs.
Tim Ashe, Partner and Director of Operational Improvement, Lead for positioning agencies for ACOs.
Patty Upham, Director, FirstHealth Home Care