August 29, 2023

MultiCare Connected Care earns high marks from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

TACOMA, Wash. — MultiCare Connected Care (MCC), MultiCare’s accountable care organization (ACO), has earned shared savings for the fifth consecutive year in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP).

Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) indicates that MCC saved Medicare over $11 million by exceeding quality and cost goals in 2022.

CMS shared 75 percent of those savings with MCC, earning $8,583,749, which the organization can redistribute to participating providers and invest in infrastructure and care process improvements.

The ACO earned an aggregate score of 85.74 percent on quality performance measures, exceeding the performance standard of 70.63 percent. This score is based on preventive screenings like mammograms and flu vaccines, management of chronic conditions, keeping beneficiaries from being readmitted after a hospital stay, and beneficiaries’ assessment of their care through the patient experience surveys.

Throughout 2022, MCC providers increased the number of beneficiaries who took advantage of annual wellness visits, including recommended health screenings. They also focused on ensuring smooth transitions for patients transferring from one care location to another — for example, from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility.

Overall, MCC covered about 36,000 beneficiaries across Pierce, King, Kootenai and Spokane counties in 2022.

ACOs were first authorized in 2012 by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and are designed to improve the safety and quality of patient care and reduce unnecessary health care costs. They achieve this by utilizing a network of providers that assumes responsibility, both medically and financially, for a population of Medicare patients.

When ACOs meet predetermined quality and cost-savings benchmarks, they share in those cost savings with CMS. Rather than being driven by the volume of services provided, ACOs focus on value and health outcomes.

MultiCare Connected Care was established in 2014 as a wholly owned subsidiary of MultiCare Health System.

About MultiCare

MultiCare Health System is a not-for-profit health care organization with 12 hospitals and more than 22,000 team members. We are committed to achieving our mission of partnering for healing and a healthy future for all and delivering world-class health outcomes and exceptional experience.

As the largest community-based, locally governed health system in Washington state, our comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and dedicated specialty services. For more information, visit MultiCare.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.