Managed care organization Health Net Inc. said this week that it has formed an accountable care organization with John Muir Health, bringing together a network of medical centers and physicians to cover three counties in California.
Like most ACOs, the new organization will leverage the network to promote better continuity of care, as well as shared services to improve care and lower costs for the providers.
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According to Lee Huskins, president and chief administrative officer of John Muir Health’s physician network, the ACO will set up a central, multidisciplinary home of physicians and will put a special emphasis on coaching patients.
The move towards ACOs comes as more organizations are leveraging shared services to improve the value of care, a proposition that can bring financial reward for providers as insurers shift from fee-for-service to value-based reimbursements. At the same time, ACOs enrolling in the Centers for Medicare & Medcaid Services Shared Saving Program can earn back half of the savings they generate. That program has already generated more than $417 million in savings.
California has 29 ACOs participating in the Shared Savings Program, with five more slated to join in January.
[ALSO: 89 ACOs join shared savings program]
John Muir runs a network of 950 physicians in the San Francisco area and employs 5,500.
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