Welcome to this week's issue of VBC Newsstand brought to you by VBCExhibitHall.com
A recent study out of the Weill Cornell Medical College questions whether the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) accurately captures the quality of care delivered by primary care physicians. Published in JAMA in December, the cross-sectional observational study of over 80,200 primary care physicians found that MIPS scores were inconsistently related to performance on both process and outcome measures. Physicians treating more medically complex and socially vulnerable patients were also more like to receive low MIPS scores even when they provided relatively high-quality care, according to the study.
UnitedHealth Group is planning to integrate more behavioral and home health services into its care delivery strategy as the company continues to expand its value-based care offerings. “We will serve these patients in clinic settings, in their homes, integrating behavioral care, supported by our data-driven clinical incidents and next best actions, and all coordinated to provide the right care when and where they need it,” CEO Andrew Witty told investors during a fourth quarter earnings call Jan. 13. Mr. Witty said the company expects 4 million more people to participate in fully accountable, value-based care models provided by Optum Health in 2023, which is almost 1.8 million more than the previous year.
To advance its goal of having 100% of people in traditional Medicare in an accountable care relationship in seven years, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced three initiatives in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the ACO REACH and Kidney Care Choices models. More than 700,000 healthcare providers and organizations will participate in at least one of the three initiatives this year, CMS said. These programs are expected to grow and provide care to more than 13.2 million people with Medicare.
The new value-based care model ACO REACH has been touted as the first ever to hold providers accountable for tackling health equity.
But some providers say the Biden administration isn’t offering enough financial incentives for them to fully reach patients in extremely underserved communities. This year is the first performance period for the ACO REACH model, which lets providers take on more financial risk for meeting a quality and spending benchmark. Each of the 132 participants must create and implement a health equity plan that identifies disparities in care among its patient population. The benchmark targets will be adjusted based on how well the provider mitigates these disparities.
Sponsored Webinars
UPCOMING WEBINARS:

ACOs: Leveraging Expected CMS Payments for a Working Capital Loan
  • Topic: Value-based care financing, how expected CMS payments can be leveraged for working capital financing, and a case study demonstrating this program
Sponsored by: Alleon Healthcare Capital
January 24, 2023 | 1 PM EST

Closing the Gaps: The REACH Model, Population Health, and the Diabetic Eye Exam
  • Topic: How point-of-care testing for the diabetic eye exam impacts health equity, quality of care, and SDOH
Sponsored by: Topcon Healthcare
January 31, 2023 | 1 PM EST

RECORDED WEBINARS:

The Ultimate Guide to APP Reporting for ACOs
  • Topic: Understanding and preparing for APP Reporting in 2023, and getting the most out of collected data
Sponsored by: Roji Health Intelligence

Check our our Webinar Archive to view past webinars on a variety of value-based care related topics!

Upcoming Conferences
2023 Social Determinants of Health Summit
January 23-24, 2023 | San Diego, CA

2023 Virtual Value-Based Payment Summit: Special Edition
Held in conjunction with Health Care Value Week
January 23-27, 2023 | Virtual

RISE National 2023
March 6-8, 2023 | Colorado Springs, CO

ViVE 2023
March 26-29, 2023 | Nashville, TN

2023 Virtual Fourth National Medicare Advantage Summit
April 11-14, 2023 | Virtual

Flash Interview
On occasion, we showcase one of our solution providers in a 4-5 minute interview and ask them what they bring to the VBC Community and what sets them apart. 
Today's guest:
CareJourney is a leading source of provider cost and quality analytics for the healthcare industry. They support payers, value-based networks and numerous ACOs, helping them assess value-based care models, optimize provider performance, coordinate patient care and uncover market growth opportunities. CareJourney does this by consolidating and enriching Medicare FFS, Medicare Advantage and Medicare and Commercial claims data for more than 275M lives to produce over 300 key provider performance indicators for more 2M+ Physicians.
Platinum Level Exhibitors
Thank you to our Platinum Level exhibitors. These organizations offer the absolute highest quality products & services to the ACO & IPA comty. To learn more & visit their interactive booths, click on the logos below:
Gold Level Exhibitors
Thank you to our Gold Level exhibitors. To learn more & visit their interactive booths, click on the logos below:
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