The surprising Obamacare experiment that saved taxpayers $24 million last year

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I suspect there are two schools of thought about these organizations.

The surprising Obamacare experiment that saved taxpayers $24 million last year

By Danielle Paquette October 6 at 9:27 AM

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Montefiore Medical Center in the Northwest Bronx ... is also an unexpected cost-saving offshoot of the Affordable Care Act — and part of an experimental effort to treat health care as more than just medicine. The dual goal: Save lives, save money.

The medical center is what’s called a Pioneer Accountable Care Organization, one of 19 in the country. More simply: It’s a network of doctors, nurses and social workers who team up to deliver continuous, coordinated care to patients — and, in the process, slash government spending.

Its approach has been championed by some health economists as a cutting-edge way to save tax money. Last year, the Montefiore Pioneer ACO saved the government $24.5 million in Medicare spending, according to a Montefiore spokesperson. Because of a cost-cutting incentive built into the Affordable Care Act, which created the partnership, the medical center got to keep $13 million of that amount.

Nationwide, Pioneer ACOs saved the government $96 million last year, compared with $87.6 million in 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said last month.