NYC Health Plus Hospitals' Accountable Care Organization Earns Medicare Shared Savings for Seventh Consecutive Year

NEW YORK, Sept. 29 -- The New York Health and Hospitals issued the following news release on Sept. 28:

NYC Health + Hospitals today announced that its Accountable Care Organization (ACO) - a group of doctors and other providers who coordinate care for patients under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) - will earn $4.62 million from the federal government for reducing costs and meeting high standards of quality care for patients. The health system's ACO is the only MSSP ACO based in New York State to earn shared savings for seven consecutive years, and one of only 18 ACOs around the country to have earned that distinction. The federal MSSP was created to change the payment structure for the Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary population. It holds participants accountable for the cost and quality of care delivered to a defined patient population over time.

"Providing high-quality, high-value healthcare to New Yorkers is fundamental to NYC Health + Hospitals' mission and our ACO leads the way for our health system," said Matthew Siegler, CEO of the Accountable Care Organization and Senior Vice President for Managed Care at NYC Health + Hospitals. "We thank each member of our comprehensive care teams for this incredible success year after year."

"The incredible team of clinicians and care teams at NYC Health + Hospitals proved again this year that we can provide high-quality health care for thousands of New Yorkers, while also reducing costs," said Health Commissioner and former CEO of the Accountable Care Organization at NYC Health + Hospitals Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. "I thank them for this achievement and I look forward to future collaboration bridging public health and health care delivery."

These results mark the seventh consecutive year that the public health system's ACO has achieved savings and outstanding quality performance by improving care coordination in the primary care setting and preventing unnecessary emergency department visits, avoidable hospitalizations, and other high-cost care for the more than 9,000 Medicare fee-for-service patients who are served through the program.

For 2019, the ACO reduced costs for its Medicare patients by $7.8 million, of which it earned $4.62 million in shared savings (this compares to $2.96 million in 2018). The ACO also received a 92.17 percent overall quality performance score. The ACO scored highest in the Preventive Health domain, and for the first time had a significant reduction in Ambulatory Care Sensitive Admissions and All-Cause Readmissions.

"NYC Health + Hospitals continues to shine as a model public health agency. This latest savings is another example of the effectiveness of the ACO model: better care coordination for patients and savings for the health care system," said Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried. "I congratulate NYC Health + Hospitals on this result, and hope it can be a model for other health care providers across the state."

Since the ACOs inception in 2013, it has saved the Medicare program over $51.5 million, resulting in earned shared savings and subsequent investment of approximately $23.7 million for NYC Health + Hospitals and its community partners.

The MSSP was created to change the payment structure for the Medicare fee-for-service beneficiary population towards value-based care by holding participants accountable for the cost and quality of care delivered to a defined patient population.