December 4, 2020
MultiCare Connected Care announces commitment to value-based care, sharpens focus on quality, value and outcomes
Goal is to substantially increase quality care payments
for Medicaid and Medicare patients by 2025
TACOMA, Wash. – MultiCare Connected Care, an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and wholly-owned subsidiary of MultiCare Health System, has announced its commitment to the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN) — a trade group that’s bringing health care systems and partners together to adopt alternative payment models that reward value-based care.
While traditional fee-for-service models focus on the quantity of services provided, value-based care rewards providers for quality and efficiency — an especially practical approach to caring for patients during large scale public health emergencies.
“The pandemic has really driven home the need for value-based care,” said Melanie Matthews, president of MultiCare Connected Care. “With an emphasis on delivering on quality and costs for all patient populations — enabling us to care for everyone in the communities we serve.”
In October 2019, the LAN established goals for accelerating the percentage of U.S. health care payments tied to quality and value in each market segment through the adoption of two-sided risk alternative payment models. These goals included 100 percent of payments for Medicare Advantage and Traditional Medicare and 50 percent for Medicaid and commercial by 2025.
MultiCare Connected Care is also participating in incentive-based programs offered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and Quality Payment Programs (QPP).
“Over the past year, we’ve taken steps to not only improve patient care but, at the same time, reduce costs through increased efficiencies,” said Matthews. “Our investment in care management and the implementation of intelligent software are just a few examples of how we’re shaping a healthier future for value-based care in the state of Washington.”
In addition to achieving efficiencies via its comprehensive Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) of over 3,900 MultiCare providers and affiliated clinicians, MultiCare Connected Care is also participating in joint ventures including the Da Vinci project — a first-in-the-nation health care partnership that aims to accelerate value-based care with a focus on medication safety, reduced paperwork, turnaround times and improved data sharing.
About the Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN)
The Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network (LAN) is an active group of public and private health care leaders dedicated to providing thought leadership, strategic direction, and ongoing support to accelerate our care system’s adoption of alternative payment models (APMs). The LAN mobilizes payers, providers, purchasers, patients, product manufacturers, policymakers and others in a shared mission to lower care costs, improve patient experiences and outcomes, reduce the barriers to APM participation, and promote shared accountability. More information on the LAN can be viewed online at hcp-lan.org/
MCC’s commitment can be viewed at: hcp-lan.org/resiliency-collaborative/individual-commitments/
About MultiCare Connected Care
MultiCare Connected Care (MCC) is an independent accountable care organization (ACO) established in 2014 as a wholly owned subsidiary of MultiCare Health System and operates as an independent entity. MCC has established a comprehensive Clinically Integrated Network (CIN) comprised of doctors and other health care providers, as well as hospitals, clinics and other health care services, such as imaging, labs and pharmacies. The CIN includes independent health care professionals in the community, as well as MultiCare providers totaling over 3,900 clinicians providing services across the continuum of care.
MCC is a physician-led organization with its own governing board and offers a commercial health benefit plan focus plus Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) and is fast becoming the population health engine representing MultiCare Health System and its independent partners, in transforming health care in our region. You can learn more at multicareconnectedcare.com.
About MultiCare
MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization with more than 18,000 team members, including employees, providers and volunteers. MultiCare has been caring for our community for well over a century, since the founding of Tacoma’s first hospital and today is the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state of Washington.
MultiCare’s comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and specialty services — including MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, Pulse Heart Institute and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic, the largest multispecialty clinic in the Inland Northwest region.
MultiCare’s network of care includes 10 hospitals:
- MultiCare Allenmore Hospital, Tacoma
- MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Auburn
- MultiCare Covington Medical Center, Covington
- MultiCare Deaconess Hospital, Spokane
- MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup
- Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma
- MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, Tacoma
- MultiCare Valley Hospital, Spokane Valley
- Navos Behavioral Health Hospital
- Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital
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