Becker's Hospital Review

Clinical Integration & ACOs 34 9 Pioneer ACOs Plan to Leave the Program, Despite Quality Improvement By Heather Punke  N ine of Medicare's Pioneer accountable care organizations told CMS they plan to leave the program: seven informed CMS they would apply to become Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs instead, while two only told CMS they intend to leave the Pioneer ACO program. The Shared Savings Program has less financial risk than the Pioneer ACO program, potentially making it more attractive to organizations that are struggling to achieve financial results. All 32 members of Medicare's Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Model improved quality and patient satisfaction in their first performance year, but not all achieved savings, according to data released by CMS. Overall, costs for the 669,000 Medicare beneficiaries aligned with the Pioneer ACOs grew just 0.3 percent in 2012, while costs for other benefi- ciaries not in the program grew 0.8 percent last year, according to CMS. • lus (North Texas Specialty Physicians P and Texas Health Resources) Thirteen Pioneers saved enough to share in the savings with Medicare, and two lost money in their first year. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, a total of 18 Pioneers achieved some cost savings, and 12 did not achieve significant savings. • resbyterian Healthcare Services P (Albuquerque, N.M.) The Pioneer ACOs that plan to leave the program include: • niversity of Michigan (Ann Arbor) U • Healthcare Partners California ACO (Torrance, Calif.) • Healthcare Partners Nevada ACO (Las Vegas) • JSA Care Partners (St. Petersburg, Fla.) • Physician Health Partners (Denver) 67% of Physicians Report No Personal Financial Benefit From ACOs By Molly Gamble  S ixty-seven percent of physicians involved in an accountable care organization last year said they did not see personal financial benefits from their participation, according to Jackson Healthcare's 2013 Physician Outlook & Practice Trends survey. Those physicians who participated in an ACO last year reported no financial benefit from the model in the form of bonuses or shared savings agreements. Nineteen percent of physicians said they were "not sure" about their personal financial benefit from ACOs, whereas 14 percent said they did see personal financial returns. Roughly 3,456 physicians responded to the survey between March 7 and April 1. Approximately 864, or 25 percent, of those physicians reported participation in an ACO. Conversely, 36 percent of respondents said they were not currently participating in nor planning to participate in an ACO. n • rime Care Medical Network P (Ontario, Calif.) • eton Health Alliance (Austin, Texas) S Seven of the above Pioneer ACOs plan to move to the Medicare Shared Savings Program, while two are leaving the program entirely. Presbyterian Healthcare Services identified itself as one of the ACOs leaving the program all together, according to Kaiser Health News. CMS did not release the other organization leaving the program for good at the time this article went to press. n 70% of Physicians Get at Least 3 Calls Per Week for New Practice Opportunities By Molly Gamble  M ore than 70 percent of practicing physicians and residents receive at least three solicitations each week about new practice opportunities, according to data from The Medicus Firm. The solicitations, which may come as phone calls, emails or regular mailings, are expected to increase as demand for physicians grows. Here is the percentage of practicing physicians (excluding residents) who receive the following number of solicitations per week. None — 3.5 percent 1 to 2 — 26.3 percent 3 to 5 — 28.7 percent 6 to 10 — 23.3 percent 11 to 20 — 12.8 percent 21 to 50 — 4.5 percent 51 or more — 0.9 percent Residents generally received more solicitations, with 9 percent receiving 21 to 50 each week and nearly 3 percent receiving 51 or more weekly.  n

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