MetroHealth Received $4.3 Million for High-Quality, Cost-Effective Care of Seniors
(Cleveland) – MetroHealth’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO) saved the federal government $6.7 million in 2018. Through the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), MetroHealth received more than $4.3 million as its share of the savings.
MetroHealth’s ACO savings rate of 6.9% ranks in the top 10% nationally and best in the nation among Essential Hospitals, those with similar risk profiles.
Medicare ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals and other health care providers who come together to provide coordinated care to their Medicare patients. The goal is to ensure that patients get the right care at the right time while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) set 31 quality measures, along with financial benchmarks, for MSSP ACOs. When an ACO achieves savings through improved care coordination and care that is appropriate, safe and timely while performing to quality targets, the ACO earns a share of the savings generated for Medicare. MetroHealth’s ACO quality score of 88.14% surpassed the market’s other health systems.
MetroHealth is the only MSSP ACO in the Greater Cleveland market to achieve shared savings for 2017 and 2018. Only 37% of the 548 MSSP ACOs across the U.S. achieved 2018 shared savings. MetroHealth’s ACO, caring for 9,000 Medicare Fee For Service beneficiaries, excelled in CMS’ most advanced value-based MSSP model, called Track 3, compared to the market and to other advanced ACOs across the U.S.
For three consecutive years, MetroHealth has earned Medicare shared savings totaling $14.1 million by saving CMS $24.3 million at an average of 8.3% per year.
This was due to unified efforts across The MetroHealth System to deliver outstanding care to patients and deliver population health results. “We are proud of our ACO accomplishing multi-year Medicare shared savings and grateful to the extraordinary MetroHealth care teams providing higher quality care with one of the best cost controls nationally,” said Dr. Nabil Chehade, Chief Population Health Officer and Senior Vice President of MetroHealth’s Population Health Innovation Institute.
MetroHealth’s MSSP ACO participation continues through 2019 and is in the process of renewing with CMS for future years.
Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.
