Accountable Care
Accountable Care: Better Care, Lower Costs
Across the nation, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are forming to provide better health care for Medicare beneficiaries — and others — at significantly lower cost.
ACOs coordinate care among providers, increasing the quality of care each patient receives while lowering the number of emergency room visits and hospital admissions, and improving the management of chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.
Accountable care is a high priority of the health care reform movement. The Partnership for Patients has pledged to decrease preventable hospital-acquired conditions (injuries and illness) by 40 percent and prevent complications during transition from one care setting to another, and therefore decrease hospital readmissions by 20 percent, both by the end of 2013 (as compared to 2010).
Here’s how Aging and Disability Services facilitates and contributes to accountable care in Seattle-King County:
- Focus on the Future Forum: Innovations for Accountable Care (ADS, 4/6/11)
- King County Care Partners
- Accountable Care Listserv –an email based discussion forum to share information, ideas and opportunities on Accountable Care in our region.
- Health Care Reform Integration Committee - Public Health Seattle-King County is leading a partnership effort to identify innovative integration models for mental Health, chronic disease managment and primary care.
Resources:
- Accountable Care Organizations, Explained (NPR, 1/18/11)
- Community-based Care Transition Programs (federal)
- Care transitions models
- Washington State’s Aging Network: Partners in Health Reform Solutions
- Health Care Reform, Medicaid Expansion and Access to Alcohol/Drug Treatment: Opportunities for Disability Prevention, by David Mancuso, PhD and Barbara Felver, MPA, MES, in collaboration with DSHS, October 2010. Given the planned expansion of Medicaid and shift in financial incentives for reimbursement, alcohol and drug treatment will be critical to meeting the objectives of maintaining and improving health status for people who have not yet become disabled.back to top