Aledade Accountable Care Organizations Improve Quality, Earn Perfect 2018 MIPS Performance Scores

BETHESDA, Md., Aug. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Aledade, Inc. announced the 2018 Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) scores for its accountable care organizations (ACOs). In performance year 2018, 80 percent of Aledade's ACOs received perfect MIPS scores, and every Aledade ACO with a 2017 score maintained or improved its quality scores from the prior year. More than 70 percent of Aledade's ACOs improved their quality score by 2 percentage points or more. 

Physicians in all of Aledade's partnered ACOs will receive the exceptional performance bonus and a payment increase through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Payment Program (QPP) in 2020.

Aledade-partnered ACOs achieved an average MIPS score of 98 in 2018, significantly outperforming the national average of 74 in the 2017 performance year, according to CMS data. CMS notes that rural practices averaged 63 points in 2017, while small practices only received a mean score of 43 points. Aledade works extensively with primary care practices in both categories, dramatically improving their ability to maximize their scores.

"We're proud to see the latest quality scores reflect the incredible level of care that our national network of independent physicians offer their patients every day," said Farzad Mostashari, MD, CEO and co-founder of Aledade. "These results demonstrate how Aledade is empowering thousands of physicians to thrive in the value-based health care system by improving the health of their patients while lowering costs and maintaining a healthy, successful independent practice."

MIPS assigns a composite score to all physicians based on four performance categories: quality, cost, promoting interoperability and improvement activities. Physicians practicing in ACOs are credited with a composite score representing the entire ACO. 

"We commend our physicians for their extraordinary performance within this current framework but also believe that there are significant opportunities to make MIPS and other quality reporting frameworks even simpler and more effective," Mostashari added. "By drastically cutting the number of required quality measures — perhaps down to as few as five high-value measures — we can ensure that physicians are spending less time checking boxes and more time focusing on real patient outcomes like reduced hospitalizations. We look forward to continuing to advocate for fewer, more meaningful measures."

Members of Aledade ACOs can already reduce their administrative burdens by leveraging Aledade's proprietary blend of software and services to conduct quality reporting, which significantly automates and simplifies the process. Last year, approximately 250 of Aledade's partner practices saved more than 5,000 hours of chart review and quality reporting work by using Aledade's EHR integration services. 

Combining technology with Aledade's ongoing, personalized practice transformation allows primary care providers to retain their independence, improve care delivery and perform at the highest level in new value-based programs.

Notable results from Aledade's 2018 MIPS scores include:

• More than 70 percent of Aledade's ACOs improved their quality score by 2 percentage points or more since 2017 
• Year-over-year, all Aledade ACOs improved their scores for over half of the quality measures for which they were accountable
• On average, Aledade ACOs scored over 97 percent on the medication reconciliation post-discharge performance measure

In addition, individual ACOs saw significant improvements, including:

• The Aledade Utah ACO increased its overall scores by 11.8 percent between 2017 and 2018, while the West Virginia Health Center ACO saw an increase of 10.3 percent
• The Aledade Independence ACO in Michigan improved its score on the medication reconciliation post-discharge performance measure by 22.2 percentage points year-over-year
• The Aledade Kentucky ACO improved its rate of falls risk screening by 27.7 percentage points, its rate of diabetes mellitus eye exams by 24.1 percentage points, and its rate of breast cancer screenings by 22.6 percent
• The Aledade Appalachia ACO improved its rate of diabetes mellitus eye exams by 21.6 percentage points and its rate of pneumococcal vaccination by 17.7 percentage points
• The Aledade Southeast ACO improved its screening rate of screening for clinical depression and follow-up planning by 34.8 percent
• The Aledade Mississippi ACO has increased its high blood pressure control rate by 17.9 percentage points over the past two performance years

Aledade empowers its partner practices by helping to improve quality scores, simplify reporting, and earn performance bonuses. This value has helped the company grow, in just five years, to operate 27 Medicare ACOs in 25 states made up of more than 6,500 providers. 

This announcement follows Aledade's enrollment of 16 ACOs into Medicare's new Pathways to Success Program for the program year that began on July 1, with 11 of these ACOs immediately embracing two-sided risk models. 

Aledade ACOs are leading the industry in adopting financial risk. For example, every Aledade ACO that launched in 2016 has enrolled in two-sided risk models this year. Nearly half of Aledade's 27 Medicare ACOs are shouldering some degree of risk in the Pathways to Success Program, compared to less than a third of other ACOs participating in the Medicare program. 

About Aledade

Founded in 2014, Aledade partners with independent practices, health centers, and clinics to build and lead Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) anchored in primary care. Through these ACOs, Aledade empowers physicians to stay independent, practice medicine like they've always wanted to, and thrive financially by keeping people healthy. Aledade offers a comprehensive range of capabilities that includes cutting-edge data analytics, user-friendly guided workflows, unparalleled regulatory expertise, strong payer relationships, and local, hands-on support from attentive experts. In true alignment with more than 6,500 participating providers in 25 states, Aledade shares in the risk and reward across over 55 value-based government and commercial contracts representing more than 650,000 lives under management. To learn more, visit www.aledade.com or follow on Twitter or Facebook.

For more information regarding Aledade, contact:

[email protected]

(202) 792-7200

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SOURCE Aledade, Inc.

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