Tufts Health Plan Launches Four Medicaid ACO Partnerships
Tufts Health Plan has formed Medicaid ACO partnerships with four Massachusetts provider organizations.
Source: Thinkstock
By - Tufts Health Plan has signed contracts to form Medicaid accountable care organizations (ACOs) with Atrius Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization, Cambridge Health Alliance, and Boston Children’s Hospital ACO, according to a press release.
These ACOs will operate under a value-based payment structure for participating providers that previously received fee-for-service payments under MassHealth, the state’s Medicaid program.
Patients will receive medical, behavioral, dental and long-term support services in an integrated model of care. This will improve quality of care, the member experience, and potentially help stabilize Medicaid costs in Massachusetts, says Tufts Health Plan.
"We support the Commonwealth's goal of providing integrated health care to MassHealth members that is more efficient and improves their overall health," said Tom Croswell, president and CEO of Tufts Health Plan. "We have partnered with four highly-regarded provider groups, all of whom share our vision of what collaboration and highly coordinated care can look like."
ACO transformation and implementation is a part of the state’s approved 1115 Medicaid waiver that allows Massachusetts to restructure MassHealth healthcare services and payments to improve healthcare for 1.9 million Medicaid beneficiaries.
The waiver, which became effective this July, authorizes $1.8 billion over five years of new Delivery System Reform Incentive Program (DSRIP) funding to support the move to ACOs, as well as investments in behavioral health and long-term services. The waiver also authorized roughly $6 billion for additional safety net care payments over five years to hospitals and the health safety net for the uninsured and underinsured.
Croswell believes that the ACO partnerships formed by Tufts Health Plan will continue to push healthcare innovation forward, and that the health plan’s extensive experience in value-based contracting will benefit Medicaid beneficiaries.
"Tufts Health Plan has an excellent reputation for our collaborative approaches with providers. We've been working with value-based contracts for more than 20 years, starting in our Medicare Advantage plans,” he added.
“We know first-hand that working closely with providers on coordinating care results in healthier members. We're excited to broaden our success and bring this approach to our Medicaid members.”
