Ill. ACO showing promise on lowering hospital readmissions

Aug 6 2012

The program, set up by Advocate, covers 380,000 enrollees, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Meanwhile, other outlets look at health law implementation efforts in Massachusetts and California.

Chicago Sun-Times: New Health Practice Leading To Better Patient Care?
In January, Advocate, which includes 10 acute care hospitals and more than 250 other sites, created AdvocateCare, one of the nation's first and largest ACOs. There now are 380,000 patients insured by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois enrolled in the program. Advocate says the new health care practice has resulted in lower readmission rates, which many groups and federal health authorities consider an indication of better patient care. Achieving lower hospital re-admisssion rates is one of the key goals of ACOs, which are now being heavily promoted by the Affordable Care Act signed into law two years ago by President Barack Obama (Thomas, 8/3).

Boston Globe:  $17 Million In Federal Funding To Jump Start Health Information Exchange
Massachusetts has contracted with Orion Health, a global health software company, to oversee development of a statewide network for hospitals and doctors to exchange electronic health records. With the help of a $17 million federal grant awarded in February, the state expects to begin connecting providers this fall (Conaboy, 8/3).

California Healthline: Exchange Maps Out Plan For Next Year
The state Health Benefit Exchange board finalized and submitted its request to federal officials for a $196 million Level 1.2 establishment grant -- essentially mapping out the exchange's plans over the next year. … The request is divided into two parts. The second half is a detailed work plan for the exchange, month by month, till June 2013 (Gorn, 8/6).