UCI Health selected as Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organization
Program to offer affordable high-value, high-quality healthcare
February 02, 2018
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have selected UCI Health to participate in the federal government’s Medicare Shared Savings Program as an accountable care organization.
“As part of the program, UCI Health will work with CMS to provide quality, coordinated care to our Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries,” said Howard J. Federoff, MD, PhD, Vice Chancellor, UCI Health Affairs, and CEO, UCI Health. “Our goals include improving the individual health of these patients, promoting advances in population health and reducing growing Medicare expenditures.”
The Medicare Shared Savings Program was created under the Affordable Care Act to encourage healthcare providers and hospitals to work together to provide coordinated care and meet performance standards that reduce costs. Federoff said UCI Health performance in this program will make high-value, high-quality healthcare available to patients in multiple settings, such as hospitals, doctor’s office and outpatient centers.
Participation of healthcare providers in an ACO is purely voluntary and is contingent on meeting 31 quality standards set by CMS for care coordination and patient safety, the use of preventive health services where appropriate, improved care for at-risk populations, and patient and caregiver experience of care.
UCI Health comprises the clinical, medical education and research enterprises of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at physician offices throughout Orange County and at its main campus, UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., a 417-bed acute care hospital that provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation. U.S. News & World Report has listed it among America’s Best Hospitals for 17 consecutive years. UC Irvine Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program, Level I trauma center and Level II pediatric trauma center, and is the primary teaching hospital for UC Irvine School of Medicine. UCI Health serves a region of more than 3 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s located in one of the world’s safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $5 billion annually to the local economy. For more on UCI, visit www.uci.edu.
