Montefiore Medical Center, a premier academic medical center, and the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine today announced its continued success in delivering quality care with improved outcomes for Medicare patients as part of the Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program. A new analysis shows Montefiore's ACO generated substantial savings for the Medicare program – one of the highest financial performers among all Pioneer ACOs – while delivering improved care to more than 25,000 patients within its ACO.

"For almost 20 years, Montefiore has been building a care model that improves a patient’s overall health, not simply a hospital stay, and that approach has bolstered our ACO experience," said Steven M. Safyer, M.D., president and CEO, Montefiore. "We believe strongly that the ACO model is a very effective tool in the effort to create a transformed health care delivery system and we are proud to again be one of the top performers.”

Savings were achieved through increased patient engagement, care coordination, and preventative, patient-centered care provided wherever needed –in the hospital, in doctors' offices, by phone or at home. Innovative multidisciplinary care teams working within Montefiore’s ACO demonstrated the positive results of patient-centered care and the value of collaboration across the care continuum. Through a unique partnership with healthcare providers in the community and Montefiore's healthcare system, Montefiore delivered clinical excellence at all points of care.

“The Pioneer ACO program has enabled us to advance our population based approach to healthcare and deepen our relationships with a variety of practitioners in our region,” said Andrew D. Racine, senior vice president and chief medical officer, Montefiore. “The lessons we’ve learned in this experience have direct applicability to other clinical and management initiatives that we are engaged in beyond the Medicare fee-for-service population included in the ACO program.” 

In year two of the program, Montefiore’s Pioneer ACO served 25,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with a network of more than 2,500 providers. During this time, Montefiore maintained its strong financial performance from the first program year, achieving 7% savings. Montefiore’s ACO made great strides in improving quality performance in key areas like depression screening and screening for risk of future falls. Challenges in year two were tied to adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health records and the management of advanced chronic health conditions like diabetes and heart failure.

“The Pioneer ACO program has been a positive experience allowing us to learn and share our learning with other healthcare leaders,” said Stephen Rosenthal, vice president, network management, Montefiore. “We look forward to continuing to be innovators in risk stratification and partnering with other stakeholders to prompt meaningful change in how care is provided.”

Results showed that during the second performance year, Pioneer ACOs across the country generated an estimated gross savings of more than $96 million, compared to $87.6 million in 2012. Findings were released by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services and included quality and financial results for the Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs in addition to the Pioneer program.