Proactive approach by Intermountain Health’s Castell accountable care value-based Medicare program generated $86.7 million in savings
Intermountain Health’s population heath subsidiary, Castell’s accountable care value-based Medicare program generated $86.7 million in savings for Medicare through its participation in the Accountable Care Organizations Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH) program in 2023.
For the second consecutive year, Castell’s savings were the second highest among all ACOs in the program nationally. In addition to the savings generated for Medicare, Castell will share $44.0 million back with primary care providers throughout the Intermountain West. The additional savings generated through the ACO REACH model will ensure that Medicare beneficiaries continue to have timely access to high-quality healthcare and will allow Castell’s participating providers to expand health initiatives into underserved communities.
In addition to the exceptional financial performance, Castell continued to be a leader in quality performance earning a 100% quality score for the second consecutive year. The quality performance was buoyed by nation-leading performance on the ACO REACH readmission measure and top five performance on the program’s unplanned hospital admissions measure.
Castell also improved performance in each of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) domains from 2022, including measures like timely access, care coordination, patient ratings of providers, and stewardship of patient resources.
“The sustained improvement in both the quality of care and patient experience underscores Castell’s commitment to partnering with leading primary care providers and health systems to deliver best-in-class care for patients throughout the Intermountain West,” said Josh Romney, MD, medical director of Castell Accountable Care. “These improvements are the results of strong collaboration between both primary care providers and specialists, with a special focus on helping high-risk patients who need additional touchpoints and managed care.”
Castell’s continued improvement in savings and the goal to become a national leader in quality performance is the result of years of concerted efforts to improve care coordination, increase access to care, and expand proactive beneficiary outreach. Earlier this fall, Intermountain Health announced plans to reintegrate Castell into the core operations of Intermountain Health to further propel the integrated delivery system as a national leader in proactive care.
The statements contained in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CMS. The authors assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this document.
About Intermountain Health
Headquartered in Utah with locations in six states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Health is a not-for-profit system of 34 hospitals, approximately 400 clinics, medical groups with some 4,600 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called Select Health with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs. For up-to-date information and announcements, please see the Intermountain Health newsroom at https://intermountainhealthcare.org/news.