AIS Newsletter Reports on Emerging Trend of MA Plans Betting on ACOs
Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 05, 2014 -- Accountable care’s influence on Medicare Advantage (MA) plans is on the rise, but there hasn’t been a large-scale movement of accountable care organizations (ACOs) building their own risk-bearing entities and forming their own MA plans, Atlantic Information Services, Inc.’s (AIS) ACO Business News (ABN) reports in its November issue.
Instead of ACOs creating their own MA plans, insurers are working with provider groups to form ACOs that those insurers then use as part of their MA products. “There are Medicare Advantage plans being run by ACOs, and there are providers bearing risk,” but the first group is much smaller than the second group, says Leavitt Partners LLC Director of Research David Muhlestein. ACOs offer large advantages for MA plans — better care coordination, better integration, and more attention to quality measures — than non-ACO-based providers, Muhlestein says. For example, ABN observes, Humana Inc., the nation’s largest MA plan operator, credits its ACOs for improving its Plan Quality and Performance (Star) Ratings, which gives the insurer access to bonus payments to improve benefits or reduce patient cost-sharing.
Visit http://aishealth.com/archive/nabn1114-01 to read the article in its entirety, which includes a run-down of recent ACO annoucements by insurers including Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Highmark Inc.
About ACO Business News
ACO Business News delivers timely news and business strategies on accountable care organizations for physicians and provider groups, hospitals, health plans and their advisers. The monthly newsletter covers the latest industry actions to design and create ACOs, results that are already being achieved by ACO-like entities, and HHS regulations and guidance on this provocative new trend in health care. Featuring the pros and cons of various strategies for different types of organizations, ACO Business News is designed to help readers avoid the pitfalls ahead and transform exciting ACO opportunities into winning business strategies. Visit http://aishealth.com/marketplace/aco-business-news for more information.
About Atlantic Information Services
Atlantic Information Services, Inc. (AIS) is a publishing and information company that has been serving the health care industry for more than 25 years. It develops highly targeted news, data and strategic information for managers in hospitals, health plans, medical group practices, pharmaceutical companies and other health care organizations. AIS products include print and electronic newsletters, websites, looseleafs, books, strategic reports, databases, webinars and conferences. Learn more at http://AISHealth.com.
Jill Brown, Executive Editor, Atlantic Information Services, http://www.aishealth.com, +1 (202) 775-9008 Ext: 3058, [email protected]
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