Bon Secours announced the Hampton Roads Good Help Accountable Care Organization (ACO) created $11.3 million in total savings for its Medicare population in 2019, representing a reduced health care spend to all taxpayers.

The Hampton Roads Good Help ACO provides high-quality care while reducing costs for its 9,689 beneficiaries through a collaboration of Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center, Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center, Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital and 274 physicians and providers in the Bon Secours Medical Group.

“For several years, the Hampton Roads Good Help ACO has invested attention, time and resources to improve the quality of care for our patients and reduce overall costs through several mechanisms, including provider collaboration, care coordination, preventive health campaigns, closing health care gaps, providing timely access to providers, reducing duplication of services, and eliminating inappropriate low value utilization,” said Anhtai Nguyen, M.D., board chair, Hampton Roads Good Help ACO, and Chief Clinical Officer, Bon Secours Hampton Roads market. “We continuously strive to meet the health needs of the people and communities we serve and provide efficient and effective care. For us, ACO has become the three-letter health acronym of the year!”

An ACO of Bon Secours, Hampton Roads Good Help ACO was accepted to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), a multifaceted program sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). ACO and MSSP models are among strategies CMS employs to lower Medicare spending and keep the Medicare program sustainable for the long term. 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reward ACOs for improving quality of care and reducing costs. Success depends on hospitals, physicians and other clinicians encouraging Medicare patients to maintain their health through better habits, including taking medication as prescribed, in order to prevent unnecessary emergency room visits and preventable hospitalizations.

Other notable achievements from CMS’s 2019 report include:

  • A quality rating of 95.4 percent
  • Shared savings of $5.4 million
  • A savings rate of 10.7 percent 

Made up of three Bon Secours hospitals and 274 physicians and providers in the Bon Secours Medical Group, the Hampton Roads Good Help ACO is designed to improve the community health, elevate the patient experience through coordinated care and lower health care costs.