Accountable Care Coalition of Tennessee Generates Nearly $41 Million in Shared Savings over Three Years Participating In Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Oct. 22, 2021) – Collaborative Health Systems (CHS) announced today the Accountable Care Coalition (ACC) of Tennessee, LLC generated nearly $41 million in shared savings under the Next Generation Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model for performance years 2018 through 2020, according to performance year 2020 figures released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

In performance year 2020, the ACC of Tennessee achieved the following outcomes:

• Served more than 24,000 Medicare beneficiaries across Tennessee;
• Achieved an overall savings rate of 8.3%; and,
• Generated $19.3 million in shared savings – a 260% increase from performance year 2018.

The ACC of Tennessee also partnered with CHS to improve care and quality outcomes through timely and preventive care. Leveraging innovative technology to track population health trends, CHS supported the ACC of Tennessee to meet quality standards annually, and, most recently, helped them achieve a nearly perfect quality score of 99%. This score was the third highest of all Next Generation ACOs. This higher-quality level of care has also helped keep patients out of the hospital and ER resulting in a 16% decrease in inpatient discharges per 1,000 and a 24% decrease in ER visits per 1,000 since 2019.

“We are proud to report the ACC of Tennessee has continued to lead the nation in patient-care quality while generating savings for our providers and the Medicare program for the third consecutive year,” said Dr. Jeff Stevens, Medical Director, ACC of Tennessee. “We remain committed to providing high-quality, affordable care and services to our patients across the state.”

“The ACC of Tennessee continues to demonstrate how physicians committed to efficiency and enhancing patient care can succeed by embracing value-based models that increase accountability, lower costs, and improve quality of care,” said Anthony Valdés, President of Collaborative Health Systems. “We look forward to our continued partnership with providers as we work to achieve quality health outcomes, healthier patient populations, and lower costs in Tennessee communities.”

The Next Generation ACO Model was designed under the CMS Innovation Center to test whether strong financial incentives for ACOs can improve health outcomes and reduce expenditures for Medicare FeeFor-Service (FFS) beneficiaries. Under the Model, groups of doctors and other healthcare providers come together voluntarily to provide coordinated, high-quality care at lower costs to their Medicare FFS beneficiaries. Provider groups in this Model assume higher levels of financial risk and reward than are available under the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). The Model engages beneficiaries in their care through benefit enhancements designed to improve the patient experience and rewards seeking appropriate care from providers and suppliers participating in ACOs.

Performance year 2021 represents the last year of the Next Generation ACO Model. The CMS Innovation Center has rolled out a new value-based care initiative, Direct Contracting, with April 2021 and January 2022 start dates for initial adopters. Collaborative Health Systems will be managing four Direct Contracting Entities with a presence across 24 states.