Medicare returns ‘shared savings’ to Community Care Partnership of Maine ACO

by MaineBiz Staff

Bangor-based Community Care Partnership of Maine, an accountable care organization of 12 member health care organizations throughout Maine, will receive a shared savings award in its second year of participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program.

For the 2017 performance year, CCPM achieved $8.1 million in total savings for Medicare, with $4.1 million in shared savings returning to the ACO and its member organizations.

The members are all federally qualified health centers or critical access and community hospitals that are committed to improving the quality and effectiveness of health care delivery and reducing unnecessary health care costs. CCPM and its member organizations will use the performance payment to invest in infrastructure and continued improvements in the delivery of high-quality patient care.

Improving care, reducing costs

CCPM member Nasson Health Care, a community-based health center managed by York County Community Action Corp. in Springvale, used the distribution of funds it received through Medicare’s shared savings program to invest in care management services.

Care management is a pillar of Nasson’s team-based patient-centered approach to help patients manage their medical conditions more effectively, the health center said in a news release.

“York County Community Action Corp. has invested its portion of this distribution in care management services — staff time, system maintenance and retaining access to HealthInfoNet, Maine’s Health Information Exchange,” Nasson Health Services Director Martin Sabol said.

Care management is a core element of the range of activities intended to improve patient care and reduce the need for medical services by helping patients more effectively manage health conditions, according to the health center. A care manager can work with a patient to create attainable health goals, develop a care plan and an action plan, and provide the kind of support the patient needs to achieve the best health possible.

“As a care manager at Nasson, I work with patients who may be suffering from multiple chronic diseases or experiencing barriers in their personal lives impacting their ability to stay healthy,” said Leah Young. “The goal is to connect with these patients and provide support and resources, which will enable them to manage their care to achieve the best outcome with the least intrusion, and at the lowest cost.”

Dr. David Koffman, CCPM’s chief medical officer, said improving care management not only results in effective treatment for patients with chronic or complex conditions, it also reduces overall costs for the health care system.

“Nasson Health Care is just one of several organizations who have been able to increase quality, efficiency, and access to care,” Koffman said. “Our shared focus is on improving the quality of care delivered to our member organizations through a team-based approach. By improving the coordination of care for our patients in their home, in our offices and at other health care facilities, we hope to achieve even better outcomes in future years.”