HarmonyCares Announces 2023 Results for its High Needs REACH ACO

The 2023 REACH ACO results demonstrate the effectiveness of HarmonyCares' comprehensive in-home care model in keeping the sickest patients healthy, at home and out of the hospital.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HarmonyCares, a leading value-based care provider of in-home primary care services for people with complex healthcare needs, today announced that HarmonyCares ACO LLC achieved a net savings rate of 23% in its first performance year (2023) in the High Needs Track of ACO REACH. These savings rank HarmonyCares as the second best performing ACO REACH participant in the country.

"Our strong performance in the High Needs Track of ACO REACH is a testament to HarmonyCares' ability to deliver high-quality care for people with Medicare who are polychronic and homebound while also driving cost savings for the healthcare system," said Matt Chance, CEO, HarmonyCares. "The High Needs Track of ACO REACH is uniquely designed for organizations like HarmonyCares that deploy care models dedicated to patients with complex needs. By eliminating socioeconomic barriers to care and focusing on proactive, in-home primary care, we've been able to significantly reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and improve patient outcomes, which translates directly into savings."

HarmonyCares ACO LLC's performance highlights for 2023 include:

• Achieved 100% total quality score, driven by 99^th percentile performance on the Days At Home measure and 90^th percentile performance on the All-Cause Readmission measure. HarmonyCares ACO LLC earned back the full quality performance withhold.
• Delivered $9.1 million in annual total medical cost savings on roughly 700 aligned Medicare beneficiaries with complex illnesses.
• Achieved a gross savings rate of 26% and a net savings rate of 23% in its first year of participating in the High Needs Track of the ACO REACH model.

The ACO's performance is consistent with the preliminary findings of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) latest evaluation of the Direct Contracting Model, the immediate predecessor to ACO REACH, which showed that participants in the High Needs Track produced significant gross savings to the Medicare program and reduced unnecessary utilization of inpatient hospital services, emergency department services, and skilled nursing facilities. 

"Patients with complex needs are a smaller subset of the overall Medicare population, but they drive a disproportionate amount of spending. Our clinical quality and shared savings results demonstrate the effectiveness of our in-home primary care model under a value-based framework in helping patients stay healthy and at home," said Michael Millie, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, HarmonyCares. "The High Needs Track of ACO REACH presents a unique opportunity to better manage care for patients with complex, polychronic care needs – who are also often the most socially and economically disadvantaged patients."

Over the last three years, HarmonyCares has made significant investments to bring resources to bear that better support patients who are clinically complex and have extensive social needs. This includes care management, behavioral health, social support, and other services that are critical to delivering comprehensive primary care to disadvantaged populations.

For more information about HarmonyCares' comprehensive in-home care model, please visit: https://harmonycares.com/.

About HarmonyCares
HarmonyCares is a leading value-based care provider of in-home primary care services for people with complex healthcare needs. Based in Troy, Michigan, HarmonyCares operates home-based primary care practices in 14 states, constituting a 175+ primary care provider group that delivers high quality primary care under an integrated, physician-driven model which includes ancillary services such as home health, hospice, palliative care, radiology, and laboratory. Visit https://harmonycares.com/.

Disclaimer Required by CMS
The statements contained in this press release are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CMS. The authors assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this document.

SOURCE HarmonyCares