News

December 21, 2016

STEWARD HEALTH CARE SELECTED FOR INNOVATIVE MASSHEALTH ACCOUNTABLE CARE PILOT PROGRAM

(Norwood, MA) – Steward Health Care System (Steward), parent company of Norwood Hospital has been selected as one of six Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in Massachusetts to participate in MassHealth’s Pilot Medicaid ACO program. Steward has been a national leader in promoting the accountable care model, demonstrating improved patient outcomes and helping to contain cost increases, including through its participation in the groundbreaking Medicare Pioneer ACO.

“Steward’s selection to participate in MassHealth’s Pilot Medicaid ACO program serves as a validation of the successful, integrated ACO model we have implemented throughout the Steward network,” said Mark Girard, MD, MBA, President of Steward Health Care Network. “We are thrilled to be included in MassHealth’s Pilot and we are excited for the opportunity to help expand and refine this innovative model moving forward.”

Through this pilot, Steward aims to increase care management and care coordination for Medicaid patients. Providers will be rewarded for high-quality, cost-efficient care.

“We are pleased to partner with Steward on this innovative pilot program to better serve our patients by offering the highest quality, integrated and coordinated care,” said Cynthia Sierra, Chief Executive Officer of Manet Community Health Center, which has five sites participating with Steward in the MassHealth Pilot program. “The importance of integrating community-based expertise into delivering health care cannot be overstated, and we look forward to working together to find new and inventive ways to improve and to maintain health outcomes and address social determinants of health.”

Dr. Robert Chirlin, a pediatrician at Children’s Health Care in Newburyport that is also participating with Steward in the MassHealth ACO Pilot, described the Medicaid initiative as “finally offering an opportunity for practices to align care for Medicaid patients with the accountable care approach other payers have championed for several years.”

The Pilot program will serve eligible MassHealth members enrolled in its Primary Care Clinician (PCC) plan, which includes approximately 30,000 Steward patients across 10 community health center locations and nearly 140 private physician practice sites affiliated with the Steward Health Care Network and in the communities served by Steward’s Hospital Group–Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Norwood Hospital, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, and New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton.

MassHealth will evaluate the implementation across the six ACOs, which will inform its anticipated larger-scale ACO implementation in 2017.

Steward’s nationally recognized care model has achieved dramatic quality and cost containment successes in the communities it serves. Participation in the MassHealth pilot will allow Steward to care for an even larger patient population under its value-based model.

About Norwood Hospital

Norwood Hospital is a full-service, 215-bed community hospital for adults and children with a focus on delivering world-class health care along with the latest advances in technology and treatment options. Norwood Hospital is part of the Steward Health Care System LLC, the largest integrated community care organization in New England which combines over 3,000 physicians, 10 acute care hospitals, managed care, insurance programs, home care, an imaging operation, and a number of other post-acute services, to provide the most cost effective and highest quality of integrated patient care. Additional information is available at www.norwood-hospital.org

About Steward Health Care

Steward Health Care is the largest fully integrated healthcare services organization and community hospital network in New England. Headquartered in Boston, Steward is the fourth largest employer in MA with more than 17,000 employees in more than 150 communities. Steward is comprised of Steward Medical Group, Steward Health Care Network, and Steward Hospital Group. Steward Medical Group provides approximately 1 million patient encounters per year in 152 sites and manages homecare and hospice with 300,000 and 35,000 encounters respectively. Steward Health Care Network, a fully integrated care management company, has 3,000 physicians, with approximately 4 million patient encounters per year and affiliates or joint ventures with approximately 30 urgent care centers. Steward’s Hospital Group includes Saint Anne’s Hospital in Fall River, Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Norwood Hospital, Carney Hospital in Dorchester, Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, Nashoba Valley Medical Center in Ayer, Holy Family Hospital in Haverhill and Methuen, Morton Hospital in Taunton, and New England Sinai Hospital in Stoughton. Additional information is available at www.steward.org