New Jersey’s Summit Medical Group chosen for CMS initiative to build on success of ACOs
Berkeley Heights, NJ (PRWEB) January 12, 2016 -- Summit Medical Group, New Jersey’s oldest and largest multispecialty medical group, as a member of the Trinity Health ACO, has been selected to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) new accountable care organization (ACO) model called the Next Generation ACO Model (NGACO Model). The model advances the Administration’s health care system goals and builds on experience from the Pioneer ACO Model and the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Through this new model, CMS will partner with Summit Medical Group through the Trinity Health ACO and with other ACOs to assume higher levels of financial risk and reward. The initiative is expected to result in better health, better care, and lower costs, and to impact individuals as well as whole communities.
“Summit Medical Group is known for providing high quality health care to our patients and we are proud to have been chosen to be part of the Trinity Health ACO,” said Jeff Le Benger, M.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Summit Medical Group in New Jersey. "The Next Generation ACO Model is one of many innovative payment and care delivery models created under the Affordable Care Act, and is an important step towards advancing care that rewards value over volume. We look forward to celebrating the improved health and wellness of the people and communities we serve."
The NGACO Model is tied to the Department of Health and Human Services’ goal of tying 30 percent of traditional, or fee-for-service, Medicare payments to alternative payment models, such as ACOs, by the end of 2016, and tying 50 percent of payments to these models by the end of 2018.
Since Medicare Shared Savings Program and Pioneer ACOs began in 2012, and now, the Next Generation ACOs – Medicare ACOs have grown to over 477 nationwide, serving nearly 8.9 million beneficiaries. The results from the past 5 years have demonstrated that as ACOs gain more experience in these programs, their performance improves in providing better quality of care for beneficiaries, while producing savings.
The 21 ACOs participating in the NGACO Model in 2016 have significant experience coordinating care for populations of patients through initiatives, including, but not limited to, the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Pioneer ACO Model. The NGACO Model participants represent a variety of provider organizations and geographic regions, and were selected by fulfilling specific eligibility criteria outlined in the Request for Applications found at the Next Generation ACO Model web page. These organizations were selected through an open and competitive process from a large applicant pool that included many qualified organizations.
For more information on the Next Generation ACO Model, please visit the Next Generation ACO Model web page or the Trinity Health ACO web page at http://www.trinityhealthaco.org . For more information about Trinity Health, please visit http://www.trinity-health.org.
ABOUT SUMMIT MEDICAL GROUP
Summit Medical Group (SMG) is the largest privately held multi-specialty medical practice in New Jersey. In addition to its 250,000-square-foot flagship campus at 1 Diamond Hill Road in Berkeley Heights, NJ, the Group has recently opened three new healthcare facilities in Florham Park, Livingston, and Westfield. SMG has more than 600 providers seeing patients at more than 60 practice locations in Essex, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, and Union counties. As an East Coast premier multispecialty group, SMG has provided exceptional primary and specialty care since 1929. Visit http://www.summitmedicalgroup.com
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Maureen Bennett, Summit Health Management, http://www.summithealthmanagement.com, 908-277-8834, [email protected]
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