The eBrightHealth Accountable Care Organization (ACO) reduced health care spending by $7 million in 2021 and, with new reporting requirements, earned a quality score of 82.1%.
That’s based on recently released performance data by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The ACO has earned approximately $3.5 million in shared savings. This is the second consecutive year shared savings have been achieved.
This achievement marks the sixth consecutive year that eBrightHealth ACO has reduced health care costs for its attributed beneficiaries, bringing the cumulative amount saved during the ACO’s participation in the program to more than $44.5 million.
“Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic the past few years, eBrightHealth ACO has continued to deliver high-quality care to tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries while reducing the cost of that care by millions of dollars,” said Christine Donohue-Henry, M.D., CEO of eBrightHealth ACO. “These remarkable achievements are the result of a close collaboration between the partnering primary and specialty care clinicians and health systems whose talented and dedicated doctors, nurses, and care teams have helped make our ACO so successful. Our continued emphasis on the health and wellness of our Medicare beneficiaries ensures that they receive the right care, at the right place, at the right time.”
For the 2021 performance year, the federal government made significant changes to the quality score measure and reporting requirements
The eBrightHealth ACO helps those in a clinical setting address clinical, behavioral, social and other needs of Medicare beneficiaries while improving their access to primary care, preventing unnecessary emergency department visits and decreasing the amount of time they spend in hospitals, a release stated.
For the 2021 reporting period, eBrightHealth achieved maximum performance for screening beneficiaries for hemoglobin A1C, falls, and tobacco use.
Since its founding in 2016, eBrightHealth ACO’s more than 1,400 partnering primary and specialty care clinicians and four health systems have been supported by CareVio, ChristianaCare’s care coordination program. CareVio harnesses real-time data and predictive analytics to identify opportunities to help Medicare beneficiaries better manage their health.
During the 2021 reporting period, eBrightHealth ACO consisted of four regional health systems — Bayhealth, Beebe Healthcare, ChristianaCare, and TidalHealth Nanticoke — six private primary care practices and two federally qualified health centers, Westside Family Healthcare and La Red Health Center.
Saint Francis, Wilmington, is the only hospital in the state that is not part of eBright.
The name eBright comes from the name given to a road at the highest point of the state. Ebright, near the Pennsylvania border, lists an elevation of 448 feet. Delaware is the lowest lying state in the nation.
