Geisinger Health Plans Case Study

Results

Many factors contributed to the success of EMHS Beacon Health population health improvement results. This includes an expansion of internal care coordination capabilities (initially developed under the Bangor Beacon Community grant), collaboration with Geisinger Health Plan experts, and access to Geisinger models to improve care and reduce costs. 

According to a report issued by CMS, costs for the more than 669,000 beneficiaries aligned with the Pioneer ACOs grew by only 0.3 percent in 2012, whereas costs for similar beneficiaries grew by 0.8 percent in the same time period. Thirteen of the 32 Pioneer ACOs produced shared savings with CMS, generating a gross savings of $87.6 million in 2012. Pioneer ACOs earned more than $76 million by providing coordinated, quality care. Two Pioneer ACOs had shared losses totaling approximately $4.0 million. Program savings were driven, in part, by reductions that Pioneer ACOs generated in hospital admissions and readmissions.

EMHS Beacon Health delivered significant savings of 5% across 8,118 beneficiaries. The savings translated to $499 per beneficiary per year. Beacon Health retained half of the savings; CMS retained the other half.In comparison, Partners Healthcare that was founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital saved $14.4 million (or 3%) across 52,000 beneficiaries. This amounts to about $277 per beneficiary per year.