Medicare Shared Savings Performance Report Shows LHS Health Network Achieves Significant Cost Savings
CAMDEN, N.J. (PRWEB) October 31, 2017 -- The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its Financial Reconciliation Report, Performance Year 2016 results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program which identified LHS Health Network, a member of Trinity Health, had reduced healthcare expenditures by $8.4 million last year, achieving the sixth highest savings rate in the nation of the over 400 organizations that participated in the program.
The report looks at data from 2016. It shows LHS Health Network’s Accountable Care Organization (ACO) had a total expenditure of about $53 million. This was against a benchmark figure of $61.5 million.
“Our provider network has worked diligently to improve patient care through initiatives that have resulted in fewer inpatient admissions, emergency room visits and skilled nursing facility utilization,” commented Jennifer Schwartz, president of LHS Health Network. “We are excited to have achieved our goal while ensuring that patients get the right care from the right provider at the right time.”
By meeting quality performance standards and exceeding its minimum savings threshold, LHS Health Network qualified for shared savings payments. LHS Health Network will receive a payment of over $3.5 million, which will split between the ACO and its physician members. Overall, the Network achieved a 13.67% reduction in healthcare costs. This was based on a relatively modest number of covered lives (5,469 beneficiaries).
“We are extremely proud that LHS Health Network has garnered such positive results,” said Reginald Blaber, MD, MBA, president of Lourdes Health System. “Their work proves that hospitals and independent physicians can work together to achieve the three-part aim of better quality, better access to care and lower costs.”
LHS has participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program with CMS for the past three years. The Shared Savings Program is an alternative payment model that promotes accountability for a patient population, coordinates items and services for Medicare beneficiaries, and encourages investment in high quality and efficient services.
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, more than 470 Medicare Accountable Care Organizations, serving nearly 8.9 million Medicare beneficiaries, have been established. ACOs are judged on performance, as well as improvement, on an array of metrics that assess the delivery of care. Those metrics include how highly patients rated their doctor, how well clinicians communicated, whether patients are screened for high blood pressure, and their use of Electronic Health Records.
In addition to the Medicare beneficiaries, LHS Health Network covers over 50,000 patients in commercial health management organizations such as Horizon, Aetna and AmeriHealth.
About LHS Health Network
Initiated in 2013, the LHS Health Network is made up of primary care physicians and specialists located in Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, and Mercer New Jersey counties. Affiliated with Lourdes Health System and St. Francis Medical Center (Trenton), the LHS Health Network is dedicated to partnering with private and governmental payers to achieve better health and outcomes at lower costs for its communities. The Network partners with Horizon, Aetna, AmeriHealth, and CMS in value-based programs aimed at achieving the highest quality results while reducing the overall cost of health care. With its physician partners, the LHS Health Network currently manages the health of over 72,000 individuals. For more information on the LHS Health Network visit http://www.lhsaco.com.
Jennifer McGowan-Smith, Trinity Health, http://www.lourdesnet.org, +1 267-221-3648, [email protected]
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