- News
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- 2021 Press Releases
- 2020 Press Releases
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- Dr. Steve Strongwater named to Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
- Atrius Health Proud to Support COVID-19 Response at Boston Hope Medical Center
- Atrius Health Engages Kyruus to Advance Novel Digital Patient Access Initiatives
- Atrius Health and Firefly Health Announce Value-Based Care Affiliation
- Atrius Health’s Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Saves Medicare $14.8 million in second year of participation
- Atrius Health Welcomes Three New Clinicians to its Board of Trustees
- 2019 Press Releases
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- Verily Partners with Veterans Administration Palo Alto Healthcare System and Atrius Health to Deploy Solutions for Improving Population Health and the Value of Care Delivery
- Atrius Health will be recognized as an “Allied Member” of The Permanente Federation
- Atrius Health reports $38.7M operating surplus for 2018
- Atrius Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Announce Deeper Collaboration to Transform Health Care Experience
- 2018 Press Releases
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- Atrius Health’s Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Saves Medicare $19.9 million in first year of participation
- Atrius Health earns national recognition for commitment to improve high blood pressure
- Communication Regarding Ballot Question 1: Hospital Nurse Staffing Ratios
- Atrius Health Announces State Certification for New ACO Program
- Atrius Health Announces State Certification for New ACO Program
- 2017 Press Releases
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- Atrius Health’s Pioneer ACO achieves over 95 percent quality score and saves Medicare $10.4 million
- Medically home group launches the future of medical care, raises $4m in funding
- Tufts Health Plan Forms Masshealth Accountable Care Organization Partnerships With Four Provider Organizations
- Boston Surgery Center and Atrius Health Complete First Total Joint Replacement in a Massachusetts Free-Standing Surgery Center
- Two tested interventions help improve weight management in children with overweight or obesity
- Atrius Health Names Rachel Rosenblum Chief Operating Officer
- Atrius Health and IBM Watson Health Forge Partnership to Bring Cognitive Insights to Primary Care Physicians and Their Patients
- Atrius Health Expands into Greater Plymouth area by Welcoming PMG Physician Associates
- Atrius Health Joins CMS Next Generation Accountable Care Organization Model
- 2016 Press Releases
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- Atrius Health Appoints Jennifer Derkazarian as Senior Director of Nursing
- Atrius Health Welcomes Patrick Holland as Chief Financial Officer
- Atrius Health’s Pioneer ACO achieves over 95 percent quality score and saves Medicare $6.8 million
- Atrius Health’s David Green, MD Named the 2016 Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts “Physician of the Year”
- Harvard Pilgrim and Atrius Health team up to employ Boston Public School students
- VNA Care Network and VNA of Boston Named as HomeCare Elite 2015 Top Agencies
- VNA Care Network Foundation Rebranding as VNA Care
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Christopher Andreoli as Chief of Ophthalmology and Visual Services
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Bonnie Hersh as Chief of Neurology
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Louis Bley as Chief of Orthopedics and Hand Surgery
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Vandhana Sharda as Chief of Optometry
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Adam Smith as Chief of Pulmonology
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Bita Tabesh as Chief of Hematology/Oncology
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Sean Uiterwyk Senior Medical Director for Performance Excellence
- Atrius Health CEO Takes on Statewide Stigma Fight
- Atrius Health Welcomes Dr. Jane Fogg, Specialty Director of Internal Medicine and Population Health
- Atrius Health Unveils New Advertising and Rebranding Campaign as One Connected Healthcare System
- Atrius Health Recognized by CDC and CMS as Million Hearts 2015 Hypertension Control Champions
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Benjamin Kruskal as Chief of Infectious Disease and Travel Medicine
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Kathy Niknejad as Chief of Urology
- Atrius Health Names Dr. Bradley Denker as Chief of Nephrology
- Labor Day Holiday Notice
- 2015 Press Releases
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- Atrius Health Receives First-Place Accountable Care Compass Award from Massachusetts Hospital Association
- Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates welcomes Dr. Nicholas McAuley to its Chelmsford practice
- Harvard Vanguard Peabody Welcomes Dr. Susan Millet, DO
- Atrius Health Ranked Highest in Overall Score Among Massachusetts Pioneer ACOs
- Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Appoints Mary O’Neil as Kenmore Practice Administrator
- Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Appoints Linda Oliver as Wellesley Practice Site Administrator, West Region
- Atrius Health Names Geisinger Transformation Exec as New CEO
- Atrius Health Launches Innovation Center
- Neponset Valley Chamber of Commerce Names Dedham Medical Associates Large Business of the Year at 121st Annual Meeting
- Atrius Health Joins National Health Care Organizations to Accelerate Transformation of U.S. Health Care System
- Atrius Health Groups to Merge
Atrius Health Announces State Certification for New ACO Program
The Health Policy Commission's First-in-the-Nation Program Aims to Improve Health and Lower Costs through High-Quality, Coordinated Care
Newton, MA - January 4, 2018 - Atrius Health, a nonprofit healthcare leader serving 740,000 patients, today announced that the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) has certified it as an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in its new, first-in-the-nation program. The HPC’s first round of ACO Certification includes 17 HPC-certified ACOs and is a significant milestone for Massachusetts, making it the first state to implement state-wide, all-payer standards for care delivery.Atrius Health has a long history of working with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and commercial payers to provide patients with outstanding quality care at lower costs. As one of the 32 organizations originally selected as a CMS Pioneer ACO, Atrius Health ranked first nationally in quality scores after completing the fifth and final year of the model in 2016. Currently as a CMS Next Generation ACO and a MassHealth ACO partner with Tufts Health Plan, the organization continues to innovate care delivery through coordinated, preventive services and by moving the site of care to lower-cost ambulatory, home and virtual settings.
“For decades, Atrius Health has delivered superlative care with accountability for cost, quality and patient experience to keep the communities we serve healthier,” said Dr. Steven Strongwater, President and CEO of Atrius Health. “We are delighted to have been selected for this first-of-its kind program, and look forward to our continued collaboration with the Health Policy Commission in an effort to reduce the total cost of care in Massachusetts and better serve patients across the Commonwealth.
The HPC’s ACO Certification Program is closely aligned with efforts by the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office of MassHealth to improve health and reduce health care cost growth in the Commonwealth through ACOs. The goal is a health care delivery system that delivers coordinated, patient-centered health care that accounts for patients’ behavioral, social, and medical needs.
“The ACO program represents a significant change in the way MassHealth contracts with health care organizations throughout the state,” said Massachusetts Secretary for Health and Human Services, Marylou Sudders. “The goal of the ACO program is to improve the care coordination and health outcomes for 850,000 MassHealth members and we are pleased they all met the thorough certification standards.”
For the first year of the program, the HPC defined a set of criteria on which to assess ACOs for certification against that goal. However, unlike other state or federal programs, the HPC’s certification program evaluates ACOs on an all-payer basis, including for their Medicaid, Medicare, and commercially-insured patient populations.
The HPC-certified ACOs include a diverse cross-section of 17 health care organizations from across the Commonwealth. Importantly, the HPC will certify all organizations participating in the MassHealth ACO program.
“The ACO Certification Program will bring new transparency and information to the public regarding how ACOs are structured and operating today,” said David Seltz, HPC Executive Director. “The HPC expects to analyze the information received and identify best practices and areas of improvement for payers, policy-makers, researchers, providers, and consumers.”
In order to be evaluated for certification, organizations were required to provide information for 15 standards, including patient-centered governance, performance improvement strategy, experience in quality-based risk contracts, population health management programs, and ability to coordinate cross-continuum care. Full certification is effective for two years and organizations with provisional certification must apply for full certification within one year.