Coastal Plains Network: Medicare Shared Savings Program Performance Year 2015 Quality and Financial Results | Eastern North Carolina Now

    The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the 2015 performance year results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Model that show physicians, hospitals and health care providers participating in Accountable Care Organizations continue to make significant improvements in the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries, while achieving cost savings.

    In 2015, Medicare Accountable Care Organizations had combined total program savings of $466 million, which includes all Accountable Care Organizations' experiences, for 392 Medicare Shared Savings Program participants and 12 Pioneer Accountable Care Organization Model participants. The results show that more Accountable Care Organizations shared savings in 2015 compared to 2014, and those with more experience tend to perform better over time.

    Medicare ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, who come together voluntarily to provide coordinated high quality care to their Medicare patients. The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors. When an ACO exceeds quality and financial thresholds - demonstrating achievement of high-quality care and wiser spending of health care dollars - it is able to share in the savings generated for Medicare.

    Coastal Plains Network LLC, is one of the ACOs that shared savings. In 2015, Coastal Plains included nearly 500 physicians and mid-level providers from Vidant's eight hospitals and Vidant Medical Group's 83 ambulatory and hospital-based physician practices. This group saw patients in dozens of primary care and specialty clinics, ranging from the Family Medicine Centers to the Emergency Department of Vidant Medical Center for a combined savings of $6.6 million

    "We are very proud of how our physicians and other providers worked with their Medicare patients to coordinate their care and achieve these results," said Dr. Suzane Kraemer, ECU Physician and Board Chair of Coastal Plains.

    Dr. Mark Rumans, Vidant's Chief Medical Officer added, "these are great results for our first year of operation. With the addition of ECU Physicians at the beginning of 2016, we are looking forward to continuing to develop models of care that improve quality outcomes for patients."

    Coastal Plains Network, LLC, is a separate legal entity formed by Vidant Health and approved by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in 2014 for participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). East Carolina University's doctors, medical practices and health providers joined Vidant Health in the Coastal Plains Network, on Jan. 1, 2016.


    Visit the Medicare Shared Savings Program News and Updates webpage to access the CMS press release and fact sheet, the link to the Performance Year 2015 results file, and to learn more about the program.

• Contact: Christine Mackey
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