Making good on the pledge to help fund the development of accountable care organizations (ACOs) as part of its company policy of limiting profits to 2 percent of revenue, Blue Shield of California has announced 18 providers that will share grants totaling nearly $20 million to help them participate more effectively in ACOs.
The grants, announced Oct. 17, represent an average of $10 million for fiscal years 2010 and 2011 and is part of a larger pledge that has also returned more than $450 million in premium credits to Blue Shield members for 2010 and 2011.
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"We received nearly 60 grant applications from providers around the state," said Paul Markovich, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Blue Shield of California. "This demonstrates overwhelming interest among providers in collaborating to reduce costs and enhance the quality of care."
Blue Shield currently participates in three ACOs in Sacramento and San Francisco covering 70,000 HMO members. It has plans for additional collaborations in Orange and Stanislaus counties aimed at delivering integrated, cost-efficient care to 38,000 members.
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Markovich noted that among those receiving grants are a community clinic serving safety net populations, the largest independent Federally Qualified Health Center in the nation, several entities seeking to better manage patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, and two children's hospitals.
AltaMed Health Services Corporation, which serves Latino, multi-ethnic and uninsured populations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, will apply its $1 million grant to improve clinical integration with its Accountable Care Network hospital partners.
"We thank Blue Shield of California for supporting our vision of improving access to care for the safety net population," said Castulo de La Rocha, president and CEO of AltaMed. "This grant will greatly accelerate our ability to enhance continuity of care, manage post-discharge care of patients and enhance coordination of care among the communities we serve."