Lessons learned from the ACO transition

Summa Health System and Catholic Health Partners are on the road to becoming accountable care organizations, and they're sharing what they've learned with attendees of the Healthcare Financial Management Associationinancial-managemen" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Financial Management Association's ANI 2013 conference taking place next week in Orlando, Fla.

There are six key variables that integrated delivery networks need to pay attention to when exploring the idea of becoming an ACO said Mark Hiller, vice president of innovative solutions at Premier healthcare alliance. Hiller, along with members of Summa Health and Catholic Health, will detail those variables during an education session on Wednesday, June 19.

[See also: ACOs have potential for big savings, reduced readmissions ]

Two of the six key variables to consider, said Hiller, are the cost to build and operate an ACO and the ability to truly "bend the cost curve."

"A cost savings is not always a guarantee and it does take time to be seen," he said. "Hospitals have to be realistic about the true ability to bend the cost curve and the ACO's ability to immediately impact it. It's not always easy."

And it's not cheap, either. Depending on the ACO model and how much ACO infrastructure was previously in place, Hiller estimates it will cost most hospitals between $5.4 million and $8.4 million to build and operate an ACO.

 Summa Health and Catholic Health are in different stages of their ACO transformation – with Summa being farther down the road than Catholic Health. Each will share their experiences, said Hiller, as well as discuss how to assess ACO precursors, such as physician group practices, in order to set realistic expectations for performance in the ACO.

[See also: ACOs don't have to be daunting, according to experts]