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Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)

promotion imageAs the health care industry tests new approaches to improve health care delivery, one of the most talked about concepts is the accountable care organization – or ACO. The term ACO means different things to different people.
 
What is an ACO?
The term “ACO” means different things to different people. We call our ACO-like initiatives collaborative accountable care (CAC). Each CAC program is a collaboration between Cigna and a group of health care professionals that’s responsible and accountable for the population it serves. The group must have a substantial primary care component, which can take any of the following forms:

• A large primary care practice (examples: ProHealth Physicians in Connecticut, Medical Clinic of North Texas in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex)

• A multi-specialty group (example: Holston Medical Group in northeastern Tennessee)

• A fully integrated delivery system, including doctors and facilities (example: Piedmont Physicians Group in Atlanta)

• A Physician Hospital Organization (example: Health Choice in Memphis)
 
• An Independent Physician Association/Independent Practice Association (example: Renaissance Physician Organization in Houston)
 
Regardless of practice type, the common thread is that the medical group must be willing to accept responsibility and accountability for achieving the “triple aim” of improved health, affordability and patient experience.

The medical group is rewarded through a pay for value structure if it meets targets for improving quality and lowering medical costs.

A key component to these programs is the care coordinator – typically a registered nurse employed by the medical group who works with individuals, especially people with chronic conditions, to ensure they get the screenings and follow-up care they need and have access to educational materials that can help them manage their health.  Care coordinators work closely with Cigna's case managers and help their patients access Cigna's clinical support programs, such as chronic condition management (diabetes, heart disease) and lifestyle management programs (weight, stress, tobacco).


What’s Cigna Doing?
Cigna is now engaged in 58 collaborative accountable care initiatives in 24 states. These programs encompass more than 650,000 Cigna customers and more than 23,000 doctors, including more than 11,000 primary care physicians and more than 11,500 specialists. Cigna launched its first CAC program in 2008. Our goal is to have 100 of them reaching one million customers in 2014.


Results
• Data Published in Health Affairs (Nov. 2012) – Press release
• Medical Clinic of North Texas Results (Aug. 2011) – Press release
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Cigna Medical Group Results (March 2011) – Press release

Publications/News
• CAC Model: Promising Early Results, Health Affairs, Nov. 2012.
• From Volume to Value, published by FierceHealthPayer, Feb. 21, 2012
• Cigna White Paper (pdf) published November 2011

 

Videos

Cigna CEO David Cordani talks about accountable care video July 2012.

Cigna's Dr. Dick Salmon and Piedmont Healthcare's Dr. Jim Sams discuss how they're collaborating to improve health care.



Cigna Collaborative Accountable Care Initiatives

Arizona
Banner Health Network
Effective November 1, 2012. Press releases.

Cigna Medical Group
 Effective January 1, 2010. Press release.

California
Brown & Toland Physicians
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

HealthCare Partners
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

Colorado
 Colorado Springs Health Partners (CSHP)
Effective April 1, 2012. Press release.

iPN (The integrated Physician Network)
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

MedSouth
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

New West Physicians
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

Connecticut
Day Kimball Healthcare
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

New Haven Community Medical Group
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

ProHealth Physicians, Inc.
Effective October 1, 2009. Press release.

Florida
BayCare Physician Partners
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release. 

Orlando Health Physician Partners
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Georgia
Piedmont Physicians Group
Effective June 1, 2010. Press release. 

Indiana
Franciscan Alliance
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Louisiana
Ochsner Clinic
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Maine
Central and Western Maine Regional PHO
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

InterMed Physician Association
Effective April 1, 2012.

Kennebec Region Health Alliance
 Effective January 1, 2012. Press release.

Martin’s Point Health Care
Effective April 1, 2012 Press release.

Mercy Health System
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

Penobscot Community Health Care
 Effective January 1, 2012. Press release.

Maryland
Greater Baltimore Health Alliance
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Missouri
Mercy Clinic
Effective July 1 2010. Press release.

Meritas Health
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Nevada
HealthCare Partners
Effective October 1, 2012. Press Release.

New Hampshire
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic
Effective June 1, 2008. Press release.

Derry Medical Center
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Granite Healthcare Network
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

New Jersey
Atlantic Accountable Care Organization
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Partners In Care
Effective September 15, 2011. Press release.

Summit Medical Group
Effective December 1, 2012.  Press release.

New York
Mount Kisco Medical Group
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Weill Cornell Physician Organization
Effective September 15, 2011. Press Release.

WESTMED Medical Group
Effective March 1, 2012. Press release.

North Carolina
Cornerstone Health Care
Effective April 1, 2012. Press release.

Key Physicians
Effective April 1, 2012. Press release.

Novant Health
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Ohio
Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Cleveland Clinic
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Mount Carmel Health Partners
Effective June 1, 2012. Press release.

Oregon
Legacy Health
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

South Carolina
Novant Health
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.

Palmetto Primary Care Physicians
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Tennessee
Health Choice, affiliated with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare
Effective August 1, 2011. Press release.

Holston Medical Group
Effective August 1, 2010. Press release.

Synergy HealthCare LLC
Effective October 1, 2012. Press release.

The Jackson Clinic
Effective January 1, 2012. Press release.

Texas
HeathTexas Provider Network (HTPN)
Effective April 1, 2012. Press release.

Kelsey-Seybold
Effective June 2011.

Medical Clinic of North Texas
Effective September 1, 2009. Press release.

Renaissance Physician Organization
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

St. Luke’s Health System Clinically Integrated Providers
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

Village Health Partners
Effective Jan. 1, 2013. Press release.

Vermont
Fletcher Allen Health Care
Effective July 1, 2012. Press release.

Virginia
Bon Secours Medical Group
Effective March 1, 2012. Press release.

Fairfax Family Practice Centers
Effective March 1, 2012. Press release.

Washington
Northwest Physicians Network
Effective April 1, 2013. Press release.



 

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