Providence, RI – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse applauds yesterday’s selection of Coastal Medical as an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) under the Medicare Shared Savings Program. Coastal Medical was one of 89 organizations nationwide selected this round to receive ACO designation, and the only one in Rhode Island.
The organizations selected to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program have entered into an agreement with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to take responsibility for the quality and cost of care they provide to Medicare beneficiaries. ACOs that succeed in reducing the cost of care through quality improvements and delivery innovation will share in those savings.
Coastal Medical is Rhode Island’s largest primary care group, with 91 health care providers and 105,000 patients. As an ACO, Coastal Medical will help coordinate care across care settings for its Medicare patients. Senator Whitehouse wrote a letter to CMS insupport of Coastal Medical’s application in April of this year.
“Coastal Medical has long been a leader in Rhode Island’s effort to improve health care delivery for our residents. With support from Medicare, Coastal Medical will have additional resources to build the infrastructure needed to better coordinate care, improve services, and ultimately reduce the cost of providing care to Rhode Islanders, ” said Senator Whitehouse.
The ACO Medicare Shared Savings Program was created by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The 89 new ACOs announced yesterday serve approximately 1.2 million Medicare recipients across the country. In total, 154 organizations now participate in the Shared Savings Program, which could save Medicare up to $940 million over four years.
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