Trinity Health ACO Achieves $24.4 Million in Shared Savings for 2019

Trinity Health ACO Achieves $24.4 Million in Shared Savings for 2019, saving Medicare $112.5M over all four years of participation

Trinity Health ACO, a Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO), achieved a 95 percent quality performance score and $24.4 million in shared savings in performance year 2019 – it’s highest performance in its four years of participation.

“Trinity Health ACO’s achieved savings reflects the effectiveness of this Model and the dedication of our providers' in providing the best care possible to the communities we serve," said Emily Brower, senior vice president, clinical integration and physician services, for Trinity Health. "We thank the providers who have worked to improve the quality and experience of patient care in the Trinity Health ACO. Their commitment helps make this innovative program a success for our patients."

The Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model was created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and is in its fifth year. It sets predictable financial targets, gives beneficiaries more opportunities to manage their own health, and enables providers to better coordinate care across health systems. In these ways, it strives to attain the highest quality standards of care for Medicare recipients.

Trinity Health ACO provides coordinated care to patients in Illinois (Loyola Medicine), Michigan (Mercy Health – Michigan), New Jersey (Summit Medical Group) and Ohio (Mount Carmel Health System). Patients experience no change in their original Medicare benefits and retain their freedom to see any Medicare provider. In order to share the savings it achieves for the Medicare initiative, Trinity Health ACO is required to succeed in both delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars more wisely.

"Our patients have seen improved health through stronger relationships with their providers and that is the outcome we strive for every day,” said Shaun Raleigh, vice president, population health, Affinia Health Network, a participating network in Trinity Health ACO. “The Next Generation ACO Model provides our doctors and clinicians with more insight to build the relationships that help our members attain better health. There is also flexibility in how we deliver care with the support of telehealth tools, allowing us to more effectively ensure our beneficiaries get access to the care they need and deserve."

Raleigh explains that the Next Generation ACO Model is directly influencing change in health care reimbursement while keeping people and communities healthy.

Next Generation ACOs like Trinity Health ACO are patient-centered organizations in which providers have access to better information about their patients' medical histories and better relationships with their patients' other providers. They often also offer expanded benefits, which may include telehealth benefits and/or the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Three-Day Rule Waiver. This waiver allows eligible patients, whose doctors participate in the Next Generation ACO Model, to be admitted to a SNF directly from their home or a doctor’s office, or from a hospital even with an inpatient hospital stay of fewer than three days.

Participation in Next Generation ACOs is voluntary for providers who — when part of the Model — are payed based on the quality, rather than quantity, of care they provide to patients.

Trinity Health is committed to Advanced Alternative Payment Models. We have more than 15,000 physicians and advanced practice professionals committed to 16 Clinically Integrated Networks (CINs) that are accountable for approximately 1.5 million lives across the country through alternative payment models (APMs) across all populations and product lines: Medicaid, Commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicare ACOs.

For more information on the Next Generation ACO Model, please visit https://innovation.cms.gov/innovation-models/next-generation-aco-model. For more information on Trinity Health ACO, visit www.trinityhealthaco.org.

About Trinity Health

Trinity Health is one of the largest multi-institutional Catholic health care delivery systems in the nation, serving diverse communities that include more than 30 million people across 22 states. Trinity Health includes 92 hospitals, as well as 109 continuing care locations that include PACE programs, senior living facilities, and home care and hospice services. Its continuing care programs provide nearly 2 million visits annually. Based in Livonia, Mich., and with annual operating revenues of $18.3 billion and assets of $26.2 billion, the organization returns $1.1 billion to its communities annually in the form of charity care and other community benefit programs. Trinity Health employs about 129,000 colleagues, including about 7,500 employed physicians and clinicians. Trinity Health has become a leader in the transformation from volume-based to value-based care with about 15,000 physicians participating in 16 Clinically Integrated Networks accountable for 1.5 million lives. Trinity Health participates in the Next Generation ACO, Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACOs, the Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) Plus program, and the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement Advanced (BPCIA) program and the Comprehensive Joint Replacement (CJR) program. For more information, visit www.trinity-health.org. You can also follow @TrinityHealthMI on Twitter.