Newswise — ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic Community Accountable Care Organization (ACO) LLC earned a quality score of 97.81% while generating $32.3 million in cost savings for the Medicare program in 2020. That's according to recently released performance data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS).

The Mayo Clinic Community ACO has participated for a year and a half in the Medicare Shared Savings Program offered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to accelerate the transformation of health care by offering incentives to provider organizations that meet quality performance criteria and reduce Medicare costs.

The Mayo Clinic Community ACO, which includes Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and all Mayo Clinic Health System sites in Minnesota and Wisconsin, served nearly 60,000 Medicare beneficiaries in the program in 2020. As part of its program participation, the ACO reported on a broad range of performance measures, such as preventive health checks, use of an electronic health record system and preventing avoidable hospitalizations. The ACO will receive a shared savings payment of $12.6 million for providing high-quality care while generating savings for the Medicare program in 2020.

An ACO is a market-based solution that encourages local physicians, hospitals and other providers to work together and take responsibility for improving quality, enhancing patient experience and keeping care affordable. The Medicare Shared Savings Program creates incentives for ACOs to invest in transforming care by allowing them to share in savings they generate after meeting defined quality and cost goals.

"In spite of the COVID-19 pandemic, our staff delivered the highest quality care to our patients" says Robert Stroebel, M.D., medical director and chair of the Mayo Clinic Community ACO Board. "We are encouraged by the results in our first year and a half of participating in the ACO. Value-based care and Medicare sustainability are important as the Medicare-eligible patient population continues to grow."

"We are delighted by the results of the ACO, particularly as it represents the work of health care teams working diligently with patients and communities to create high-quality, efficient and cost-effective care focused on prevention and chronic disease management," says Prathibha Varkey, M.B.B.S., president, Mayo Clinic Health System.

In 2020, 513 ACOs across the nation participated in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, caring for over 11.2 million beneficiaries and saving Medicare approximately $1.9 billion, according to CMS.

Visit the CMS data website to see the full 2020 financial and quality performance results for all ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Learn more about ACOs on the CMS Innovation Center website and Medicare Shared Savings Program website.

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About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news. For information on COVID-19, including Mayo Clinic's Coronavirus Map tracking tool, which has 14-day forecasting on COVID-19 trends, visit the Mayo Clinic COVID-19 Resource Center.

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