When asked about their biggest challenge or frustration, many employers and health care purchasers cited their lack of insight into the impact of accountable care organizations (ACOs) on their populations and their spending. Employers need visibility into how their health plan’s ACO programs are performing.
In fall of 2016, we kicked off Collaborative 1: “Holding Health Plans Accountable for Their ACO Performance” to equip employers with the tools needed to evaluate their health plan’s ACO arrangement.
Participants
- Equity Healthcare
- GE
- Lenovo
- Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund (PEBTF)
- Pitney Bowes
Our group benefited from the expertise of our dedicated subject matter expert, Jeff Levin-Scherz, North American Co-Leader of the Health Management Practice at Willis Towers Watson.
Description of our work
Over the course of the year, our participants, along with CPR staff and a subject matter expert, met monthly to discuss the state of the ACO movement, hear from other employers with ACO experience, listen to insights from ACO representatives, and confer on the metrics they would like to have as part of their own health plans’ ACO arrangements—including measures of cost, quality and utilization—and the level of transparency and reporting they need on these arrangements.
From these various discussions, CPR staff worked with the participants and subject matter expert to develop a series of standardized resources purchasers could use to establish a dynamic with health plan partners that facilitates purchasers’ insight into how their health plan’s ACOs are faring.
Status check
This Collaborative wrapped up in September 2017, but our work continues….
Final deliverable- Join the SPARC Movement!
In November 2017, CPR released the final deliverable of our yearlong Collaborative, Standardized Plan ACO Report for Customers (SPARC). SPARC is a suite of tools employers can use to hold health plans accountable for ACO performance and includes multiple components, including a template report that employers can give their health plans inspired by the nutrition label.
We are on a mission to spark a broader movement to push for standard reporting and transparency for employer customers. We have recruited multiple employers and benefit consultants to come on board. Learn more about the SPARC movement and why this is so important moving forward.