AMGA praises members for including ACOs in health reform legislation

The American Medical Group Association (AMGA) announced significant accomplishments in its advocacy efforts to reward members for the high level of quality, cost-efficient, coordinated care they bring to their communities with the inclusion of language establishing Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) in the recently passed health reform legislation. AMGA has been a leader in reform efforts that foster the creation of community-based entities accountable for comprehensive healthcare services, referred to as ACOs, to promote accountability and to build on the practice patterns of high-performing organizations. It provided guidance to congressional leaders on the appropriate language regarding ACOs and lobbied aggressively for its inclusion.

As part of its continuing efforts, the association also announced a series of meetings in 2010 that will bring together the leaders of healthcare delivery systems to educate medical group leaders on how to develop, operate, and maintain high performing ACOs. The meetings will focus on physician-led, patient-centered ACOs and go beyond the theoretical by bringing together actual case studies presented by the medical group leaders with first hand experience in providing accountable care to their patients.

AMGA's meetings will feature innovators from the membership presenting their case studies and will culminate in the fall at AMGA's Institute for Quality Leadership, subtitled the "AMGA National Summit on ACOs." Topics addressed will include implementing care coordination best practices; aligning governance, structure, and incentives; and establishing performance improvement, measurement, and monitoring systems to become a high-performing care organization that could qualify as an ACO.

"AMGA is uniquely positioned to provide a framework for evolution toward an ACO, not only because it was instrumental in crafting the legislative language on ACOs, but also because among our members are the leading high-performing, healthcare delivery systems in the nation," said Donald Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, President and CEO. "These groups are the vanguard of system transformation and their experiences will inform and enlighten other organizations as they embark on their own journey."