Those Failing CO-OPs: Implications for the ACA and its ACO Workhorse

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH As the battle for the hearts and minds of Americans relative to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) continues, and the tracking sentiment index waxes and wanes between ‘favorable’ and ‘unfavorable’ one front in particular seems to have a fair degree of utility with the narrative profferred by the ‘repeal and replace‘ crowd. …

POTUS: The De Facto Health Wonk-in-Chief of the US?

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH   Love him or hate him President Barack Obama continues to demonstrate depth, insight, tenacity and a firm grip on the state of the U.S. Healthcare ecosystem dysfunction (and remedies) well beyond his formal training as a Constitutional scholar. Now as arguably one of the most legislatively accomplished President’s in …

MACRA, MIPS and APMs: A Report from CAPG

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH So everyone is talking about value based healthcare. No longer is ‘business as usual‘ even an option on the table as the volume driven FFS zeitgeist continues to lose supporters in health policy circles while a growing body of clinical initiatives from ACOs to a range of variably structured and …

12 Steps to the Triple Aim or Value Based Healthcare

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH It has been challenging at times being in the ‘innovation conversation’ dating back to the 70s (who remembers ‘WIN’ [whip inflation now], PSROs or even HSAs (no, not the privatization funding mechanism, but the CON overlords) watching what get’s reported by industry press or online media as ‘innovation‘ or ‘bold …

Courtesy of our friends at AJMC: ‘5 Things to Know About Accountable Care Organizations’

by Laura Joszt This week, The American Journal of Managed Care was in Palm Harbor, Florida, hosting the fall live meeting of its ACO and Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition, where stakeholders from across the healthcare industry discussed best practices. As the country moves from volume to value, accountable care organizations (ACOs) can play a key role …

FLAACO? What’s That?’

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH First there was section 30222 prescribed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), which added section 1899 to the Social Security Act that requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish the [Medicare] Shared Savings Program (MSSP), see: ‘Summary of Final Rule Provisions for Accountable CareOrganizations under the Medicare …

The Transformation Continues – PopHealth Week’s Focus in July

by Fred Goldstein The role of Primary Care Providers is changing and much of this is for the better. With the Triple Aim of improving the patient experience, improving the health of populations and reducing per capita costs; along with new payment methodologies, quality measures, organizational structures, and the like, primary care providers are being …

The ACA, ACOs and Health System Reform 5 Years Later

By Gregg A. Masters, MPH In the relentless sound byte and laughable misrepresentation of facts proffered by ideologues intent upon diluting if not repealing the ACA, one consistent voice of reason and evidence mindfulness is that presented by the cogent and thoughtful reflections on the indicia of ACA implementation courtesy of ‘team Commonwealth Fund’ aka @CommonWealthFnd. …

Three Reasons Your ACO Will Likely Fail

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH I’ve seen this before, and many times at that, see: 6 Reasons Your ACO Will Fail (A Series), Any One Will Do.‘ While some continue to debate and attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the underlying market dynamics on which the vision of ‘Accountable Care‘, the triple aim or …

A Fork in the Road: ACOs vs. Direct Practice?

by Gregg A. Masters, MPH In the run up to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (select milestones here), the Senate Finance Committee under the leadership of Chairman Max Baucus presided over a comical volume of amendments proffered by his colleagues on the other side of the isle, see: ‘Senate Democrats Lead Historic Passage …