Downers Grove, IL and Milwaukee, WI — Data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) show that Advocate Aurora Health's three affiliated Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) combined generated the highest savings of any integrated health system in the nation in the 2020 Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP). Advocate Aurora generated $110 million in savings, the system’s best performance yet despite the immense challenges of the pandemic. The 2020 effort brings Advocate Aurora’s total savings for the federal government and taxpayers to more than $414 million since joining the program in 2012.
The 28% improvement over 2019’s total savings came as teams in Illinois and Wisconsin continued to help each other learn and improve in the years after the 2018 merger, providing high-quality, highly coordinated care while managing costs.
Those results reflect Advocate Aurora’s unwavering commitment to value-based care, lowering costs for patients and other payers while providing the highest quality care possible.
“Last year we established that once we were beyond this pandemic we wanted to be remembered for three things - for taking good care of our team members, our patients and our community,” Advocate Aurora Health CEO Jim Skogsbergh said. “While the pandemic isn’t over just yet, we continue to pull together, combining the skills of teams in Illinois and Wisconsin and putting our scale to work for our patients. Our results in this program put hard numbers on what we always say is true: We know how to help people live well.”
Several initiatives across Advocate Aurora's continuum of care contributed to improved patient outcomes and cost savings. Notable wins included:
- Being fully integrated and aligned, putting ambulatory and inpatient care under one leadership structure
- Transition of the Illinois Care Management team to Epic’s Healthy Planet Population Health platform, and full integration with all hospitals on Epic
- Expansion and standardization of clinical education drove efficiencies and improved competency of the team allowing them to serve more patients
- Number of patients served grew by over 5,600 cases across both states
- In 2020, our care management penetration into the MSSP population increased over 10% compared to 2019, touching 10% of the entire MSSP population in IL and almost 13% of the MSSP population in Wisconsin
- Expansion of our Advanced Care at Home Program, which includes Hospital at Home and Palliative Care
“Once again, we have shown ourselves to be a national leader in value-based care,” Chief Medical Officer Dr. Gary Stuck said. “I couldn’t be more proud of our resilient team and their focus on this important work.”
MSSP ACOs are offered financial incentives to both improve quality and reduce health spending. When an ACO – a group of doctors, hospitals and other providers that form networks to coordinate patient care – demonstrates that it has achieved certain quality and cost reduction benchmarks, it is rewarded with a share in the savings generated for Medicare.
Advocate Aurora's three ACOs combined received $56 million back from the program, savings that are re-invested in patient care.
Advocate Aurora's three affiliated ACOs span both the states it serves, with Advocate Physician Partners Accountable Care, Inc. managing 113,033 Medicare beneficiaries in Illinois and Accountable Care Organization of Aurora, LLC and Aurora Accountable Care Organization, LLC managing 47,871 and 23,727 Medicare beneficiaries, respectively, in Wisconsin.
Media contact:
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About Advocate Aurora Safe Care Promise
Health and safety is our highest priority. The Advocate Aurora Safe Care Promise provides additional measures to protect patients and our team members, providing peace of mind at every step of your journey with us. In person or online, we are here to ensure safe, comfortable and convenient care. As the environment evolves and seasons change, we’ll be ready with measures to ensure you’re safe.
About Advocate Aurora Health
Advocate Aurora Health is one of the 12 largest not-for-profit, integrated health systems in the United States and a leading employer in the Midwest with 75,000 employees, including more than 22,000 nurses and the region’s largest employed medical staff and home health organization. A national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, the system serves nearly 3 million patients annually in Illinois and Wisconsin across more than 500 sites of care. Advocate Aurora is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies and is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology and pediatrics. The organization contributed $2.2 billion in charitable care and services to its communities in 2019. We help people live well.