Medicare ACOs Saw Record Savings Years During Pandemic

August 26, 2021 - The past year was a difficult one for the nation and the healthcare industry in particular. As it turns out, value-based care could've played an even greater role in improving population health and healthcare spending.

Medicare ACOs Generated $4.1B in Savings in 2020

Medicare ACO savings hit a record high, with accountable care organizations collectively saving Medicare $4.1 billion in 2020, according to a new report.

The total savings, along with the $1.9 billion in net savings after accounting for shared savings payments, made 2020 the best year yet for the Medicare Shared Savings Program, report author National Association of ACOs stated.

The ACOs also achieved an average quality score of 97.8 percent last year, with 60 ACOs earning a perfect score of 100 percent, NAACOS reported using performance data recently released by CMS. READ MORE

Unvaccinated COVID-19 Hospitalizations Costing Billions of Dollars

Unvaccinated COVID-19 hospitalizations cost payers and the healthcare system at large billions in healthcare spending, according to a Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) Health System Tracker study.

Using previously released data from CMS, the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker, and other research organizations, the study worked off of the estimate that a coronavirus hospitalization costs a total of approximately $20,000.

In the months of June and July 2021 combined, the study found that coronavirus hospitalization costs for the unvaccinated totaled around $2.3 billion. The researchers argued that these costs were preventable due to the broad availability of the vaccine. READ MORE

Artificial Intelligence Improves Lung Cancer Detection

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers developed novel artificial intelligence blood testing technology to detect lung cancer in patients.

The test approach, called DELFI (DNA evaluation of fragments for early interception), finds unique patterns in the fragmentation of DNA shed from cancer cells within the bloodstream. Using artificial intelligence technology on blood samples from 796 individuals in Denmark, the Netherlands, and the United States, researchers found that the DELFI approach could accurately differentiate between patients with and without lung cancer.

By combining the test with clinical risk factor analysis, a protein biomarker, and computer tomography imaging, DELFI detected 94 percent of patients with cancer across different stages and subtypes. The detection included 91 percent of patients with earlier or less invasive stage I/II cancers and 96 percent with more advanced stage III/IV cancers. READ MORE

40 Percent of Hospitals Fail to Report Community Health Needs

Only about six in ten non-profit hospitals are completing a community health needs assessment (CHNA) and publicly reporting the results and corresponding action plan online, according to data published in JAMA Network Open as a research note.

US government began mandating CHNAs as part of the ACA to ensure non-profit hospitals were producing community benefits with the costs saved from certain tax exemptions. The findings mean that 40 percent of non-profit hospitals are failing to fulfill a key provision mandated under the Affordable Care Act in order to maintain that non-profit status.

Particularly, non-profit hospitals must conduct a CHNA every three years and use that assessment to devise an intervention plan. Hospitals must also make those documents publicly available, usually on the hospital website. Each of these documents come with certain documentation requirements.

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Antibody Treatment Highly Effective

AstraZeneca recently announced that its COVID-19 antibody combination, AZD442, reduced the risk of symptomatic coronavirus by 77 percent compared to placebo in a Phase 3 trial. The randomized, double-blind PROVENT clinical trial enrolled 5,197 participants to receive AZD7442 300 milligrams or placebo.

Researchers conducted the trial in 87 sites in the US, UK, Spain, France, and Belgium. The primary analysis consisted of 25 cases of symptomatic COVID-19 and 5,172 participants who were not infected. The primary endpoint of the trial was the first case of any COVID-19 RT-PCR positive symptomatic illness occurring post-dose prior to day 183.

Overall, there were no cases of severe COVID-19 or COVID-19-related death in those treated with AZD7442, researchers explained. But there were three cases of severe COVID-19 in the placebo arm and two deaths. Researchers will follow participants for 15 months. READ MORE

Big Business Expect Continued Investment in Telehealth Services

Roughly three-quarters of the nation’s large businesses expanded their telehealth programs for employees during the pandemic, and many may use those channels in the future to address social determinants of health and improve access to mental health services.

That’s the take-away from the 2022 Large Employers’ Health Care Strategy and Plan Design Survey, unveiled this week by the Business Group on Health. The annual survey gathered opinions this year from 136 employers covering more than 8 million lives.

According to the survey, some 94 percent of large businesses are anticipating an increase in medical services due to delayed care. Some 91 percent are concerned about the long-term mental health effects of the pandemic, 76 percent expect chronic care management needs to increase, and 68 percent are worried about an increase in late-stage cancer treatments because employees skipped or delayed wellness visits or check-ups. READ MORE