xG Health Solutions™ and Geisinger Health System add 20 more hospitals to their bundled payment collaborative

COLUMBIA, Md., May 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As a result of the recent expansion of the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Geisinger Health System (GHS) and xG Health Solutions™ have announced partnerships with 20 additional hospitals and will support those organizations as they continue to work towards value-based care.

All participants in the Geisinger-xG Health BPCI collaborative gain access to the team of experts from both entities, educational programs and are able to partner with xG Health on the services it provides for re-engineering care delivery and transitioning from volume to value.   

"Adopting bundled payment methodology will encourage providers to examine their approach to care delivery," said Ray Herschman, president and chief operating officer of xG Health Solutions™. "And this is where we are leveraging the vast experience of Geisinger and xG's analytic capabilities to help those providers be better prepared for risk-based payment arrangements." 

Bundled payments have recently received attention as one of the rapidly emerging reimbursement methods that provide better cost control, while focusing on high quality care delivery for patients.  Geisinger, a nationally recognized innovator in developing and implementing advanced care delivery models, has had a long and successful history in the bundled payment arena.  The organization has had more than a decade of experience working collaboratively with CMS on similar projects such as Physician Group Practice and Physician Group Practice Transition Demonstrations.  Geisinger has also been a CMS -- Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) Facilitator Convener for the Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) initiative since 2012. 

The BPCI initiative is an opportunity for providers to participate in cutting edge payment reform. 

"We strongly believe that this program provides a great opportunity for providers to prepare for the future of pay-for-value reimbursement and that physicians and hospitals should begin this journey now, if they haven't already," said Dr. Thomas R. Graf, chief medical officer of population health at GHS, who has been leading this initiative and is a nationally-recognized expert in episode and bundled payment strategy and implementation.

xG Health Solutions™ serves as Geisinger's analytics partner for the BPCI initiative. "The participating hospitals recognize that analytics -- both the tools and the insights -- will be a critical drivers of program success," Herschman said. "We at xG have developed a successful approach to data analysis and reporting for all 48 BPCI bundles, working in partnership with our clients to provide actionable insights across the care continuum, in order to lower costs while materially improving the quality of care delivered."

About xG Health Solutions
xG Health Solutions' mission is to help health systems and others committed to high quality, value-based care succeed under risk-based payment arrangements. Our volume-to-value roadmap, care design and delivery, population health analytics, and financial optimization services are powered by Geisinger Health System's methods that have been proven to achieve best-in-class outcomes. xG Health is the primary provider of Geisinger's Healthcare Performance Improvement Intellectual Property.  xG Health also provides experienced professionals to partner in developing and implementing strategies focused on improving quality and reducing cost of care over the long haul. For more information, visit www.xghealth.com, or follow the latest xG Health news and more on LinkedIn or Twitter.

About Geisinger Health System
Geisinger is an integrated health services organization that has been widely recognized for its innovative use of the electronic health record and the development and implementation of innovative care models, including ProvenHealth Navigator (an advanced medical home model) and its ProvenCare program. Geisinger Health Plan, the insurance affiliate of Geisinger Health System, serves members in Pennsylvania, Maine, New Jersey, and West Virginia. The plan is consistently ranked among the top-ranked health plans in Pennsylvania and the nation, according to the National Committee for Quality Assurance's (NCQA) annual Private and Medicare Health Insurance Plan Rankings. For more information, visit www.geisinger.org and www.thehealthplan.com.

CONTACT: Tatiana Nikitina, xG Health, o: 443-203-1079, m: 917-749-4603, [email protected]

SOURCE Geisinger Health System