Downers Grove, IL and Milwaukee, WI — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Advocate Aurora Health's three affiliated Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) combined generated the most savings of any health system in the nation in the 2019 Medicare Shared Savings Program. Advocate Aurora generated $85.7 million in 2019 by delivering high quality, highly coordinated care for more than 209,000 Medicare beneficiaries, bringing its total savings for the federal government and taxpayers to more than $280 million since joining the program in 2012.
Those results reflect Advocate Aurora’s unwavering commitment to value-based care, lowering costs for patients and other payers while providing the highest quality care possible. The ACOs, comprised of physicians and Advocate Aurora Health hospitals, achieved a combined quality score of 95.87.
“As the pace of health care industry transformation has accelerated in recent months, our success in this program demonstrates our leadership in reducing the cost of high-quality, accessible health care. That’s the ballgame,” Advocate Aurora Health CEO Jim Skogsbergh said. “Our team has worked incredibly hard to drive these results, and these impressive numbers are a reflection of their commitment to innovating to help our patients and communities live well.”
In partnership with ACO physicians, several initiatives across Advocate Aurora's continuum of care contributed to improved patient outcomes and cost savings. Notable wins included:
- Appropriate reductions in Post Acute utilization (skilled nursing facility days and utilization, inpatient rehabilitation utilization, and long term acute hospital utilization).
- A “home first” initiative driven by our ACO physicians, Integrated Care Management and Post Acute Teams aimed at discharging patients to the appropriate next care setting, ideally home if clinically appropriate.
- Expansion of predictive analytics and care management programs that identify patients at high risk for hospitalization or readmission and facilitate interventions to reduce incidences of adverse and costly health events.
- Improvements in primary care services, preventive health services and wellness visits in alignment with a clinical integration program.
“Our ongoing success saving taxpayers money and keeping our care quality scores high is something we don’t take for granted because we know how difficult it is,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gary Stuck said. “The approach to coordinating care that helps drive results in this program helps every patient we care for, and it has proven critical to how we navigate the global pandemic.”
MSSP ACOs are offered financial incentives to both improve quality and reduce health spending. When an ACO – a group of doctors, hospitals and other providers that form networks to coordinate patient care – demonstrates that it has achieved certain quality and cost reduction benchmarks, it is rewarded with a share in the savings generated for Medicare.
Advocate Aurora's three ACOs combined received $42.2 million back from the program, savings that are re-invested in patient care.
Advocate Aurora's three affiliated ACOs span both the states it serves, with Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care, Inc. managing 128,000 Medicare beneficiaries (one of the largest in the country) in Illinois and Accountable Care Organization of Aurora, LLC and Aurora Accountable Care Organization, LLC managing 76,000 and 5,300 Medicare beneficiaries, respectively, in Wisconsin.
Media Contact:
About Advocate Aurora Safe Care Promise
Health and safety is our highest priority. The Advocate Aurora Safe Care Promise provides additional measures to protect patients and our team members. In person or online, we are here to ensure safe, comfortable and convenient care, and have taken additional measures to protect patients and their families including:
Masking – Ensuring anyone who enters our locations is wearing a mask. If they don’t have one, we’ll gladly provide it.
Screening – Taking the temperature and asking questions about symptoms and exposure to everyone who enters our locations.
Social distancing – Rearranging our waiting areas and staggering appointment times to reduce traffic and create safe spaces.
Virtual check-in – Facilitating check-ins with digital devices for seamless, low-contact arrivals.
Enhanced Cleaning – Adding additional cleaning precautions in all areas and added handwashing/sanitizer stations.
About Advocate Aurora Health
Advocate Aurora Health is one of the 10 largest not-for-profit, integrated health systems in the United States and a leading employer in the Midwest with 75,000 employees, including more than 22,000 nurses and the region’s largest employed medical staff and home health organization. A national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, the system serves nearly 3 million patients annually in Illinois and Wisconsin across more than 500 sites of care. Advocate Aurora is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies and is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology and pediatrics. The organization contributed $2.1 billion in charitable care and services to its communities in 2018. We help people live well.