CMS Announces Acute Care Episode Demonstration Sites
On January 7, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a Press Release announcing the site selections for the Medicare Acute Care Episode (ACE) Demonstration.
As reflected in the Press Release, CMS has selected the following sites to participate in the ACE demonstration:
- Baptist Health System (San Antonio, Texas)
- Oklahoma Heart Hospital, LLC (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma)
- Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital (Denver, Colorado)
- Hillcrest Medical Center (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
- Lovelace Health System (Albuquerque, New Mexico)
CMS reports that the goal of the ACE demonstration is to use a bundled payment to better align the incentives for hospitals and physicians, leading to better quality and more efficient care. The demonstration will include 28 cardiac and 9 orthopedic inpatient surgical services and procedures and CMS will make a single payment for both Medicare Part A and B services. CMS indicates that the ACE demonstration will provide each site or "value-base care center" with an opportunity to develop efficiencies in care through quality improvement in clinical pathways, improved care coordination among specialists, and gainsharing. The ACE demonstration was open to applicants from Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Colorado. The ACE demonstration will be implemented in early 2009.
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