ACO Success

Why ACOs?

Value-based care models, such as ACOs, are expected to replace a majority of traditional fee-for-service payment models. Fee-for-service rewarded providers for every service performed which often prompted unnecessary tests and procedures resulting in higher-than-necessary costs and duplicative services. Value-based care has continued to demonstrate a lower cost methodology to delivering higher quality health care and incentivize providers by offering bonuses when costs are minimized, and preventive care and chronic disease management benchmarks are met.

The Caravan Health Difference

ACOs provide a sustainable path to support primary care transformation by focusing on prevention and delivering appropriate care in the right settings. Whether its the Medicare Shared Savings Program or the CMMI's new ACO REACH model, Caravan Health can help you achieve sustainable success in accountable care. Joining an ACO with Caravan Health will help your organization implement a proven model of care to reach quality improvement goals, reduce costs, and mitigate risk by bringing greater focus to population health management - keeping your patients healthy even when they aren't in your hospital.

Read Now: ACO REACH for Safety Net Hospitals

Create More Scale 

Caravan Health has pioneered the collaborative ACO, a larger ACO that provides the best protection against downside risk. In a Caravan Health ACO, you band together with other independent health systems to get the benefits of scale. We build ACOs larger than 100,000 lives that can mitigate the normal fluctuations in performance.  The data prove that a larger ACO has less variation.​

Generate More Revenue

Caravan’s partner ACOs generate new revenue streams using Caravan’s award-winning technology, Caravan Coach, to engage patients, improve preventive care and optimize bonus and incentive programs including the 340B drug discount program. Caravan clients lead the nation by outperforming benchmarks which results in achieving more in shared savings, reporting industry-leading MIPS scores, and capturing more 340B savings while maintaining compliance using Caravan’s technology. 

Read our press release: All Caravan Health Collaborative ACOs Earn Shared Savings for 2020 Performance

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an ACO?
An accountable care organization (ACO) consists of a group of physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers who collaborate to deliver value-based, high-quality care to their Medicare patients. The goal of coordinated efforts and team-based approaches is to ensure patients receive the most suitable care. This includes proactive preventive care which helps to avoid unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors.

How does an ACO work?
When an ACO succeeds in delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars with greater efficacy and efficiency, the ACO will share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program. These shared savings result in providers, facilities, and health care systems receiving funds that can be used to further improve the quality of care with additional resources, additional staff, and improved stability in times of financial uncertainty.

What are the pros of ACOs?
The advantages of participating in an ACO start with the over-arching ability to deliver higher-quality care at lowered costs which not only decreases unnecessary spending but also eliminates and/or helps to reduce replicated tests and procedures. ACO participants utilize a team-based care approach with value-based methodologies which allows physicians the time to spend with more acute patient needs while staff are empowered with more capabilities and time to help patients better understand how to engage in their health and care journey. Medicare experiences less waste to its system due and successful ACOs are rewarded with shared Medicare savings which helps to continue improved care through additional resources. 

How do ACOs benefit patients?
Patients receive higher quality care at lower costs through value-based care, the core component of an ACO. Participants in an ACO place greater emphasis on preventive care, promoting wellness, and better managing chronic diseases all the benefit of the patient.

How do ACOs make money?
Providers in an ACO are incentivized to be more efficient and less duplicative in their efforts. When their health care delivery is improved by population health methodologies that emphasize value-based care rather than fee-for-service care, ACO participants bring in new population health revenue and earn a share of the savings to Medicare. The larger the ACO, the better the opportunity for substantial financial incentives that are paid directly to the participant. 

Which problems do ACOs solve?
At the core of ACOs is a team-based, value-based care approach which focuses on population health. ACOs help to improve the health of their community and improve communication and collaboration between providers in different locations and different specialties. There is less duplication of tests and procedures which lowers overall costs. Providers, staff, and patients have improved communication which results in lowered admission rates in both the hospital and emergency department. 

How can an ACO work for my organization?
Participation in an ACO provides an underlying financial stability to organizations. As they improve the quality of care through more patient-friendly value-based care methods, costs are lowered, unnecessary tests, procedures, and hospital and ED admissions are decreased. Providers experience less burnout due to the team-based care approach and because more time is spent with patients, they are more engaged in their health and more communicative and compliant with their health care.