Back in 2009-2010, as the Affordable Care Act was being debated and then passed, Duke Health Systems decided they could not sit on the sidelines and watch as the whole landscape of health care was changing and new models of care were emerging. They needed to take part, but slowly and methodically, they decided, and […]

Governor McCrory and Secretary of the NC Department of Health and Human Services Aldona Wos, MD, visited Wilmington Health last summer as part of their statewide tour of accountable care organizations (ACOs). The McCrory administration supports Medicaid reform that incorporates accountable or value-based care, and the visiting officials wanted to learn how this emerging model […]

As the saying goes – ‘if you’ve seen one accountable care organization (ACO), you’ve seen one accountable care organization.’ But while every ACO in our state is “homegrown” in its particular population and faces its own challenges as well as advantages, some transcendent lessons can be gleaned from each unique situation. Triad HealthCare Network (THN), […]

October 16, 2013 – Cigna (NYSE: CI) and the Boice-Willis Clinic, one of the largest and oldest multi-specialty, physician-owned practices in Eastern North Carolina, have launched a collaborative accountable care initiative to improve patient access to health care, enhance care coordination and achieve the “triple aim” of improved health, affordability and patient experience. The program […]

Obamacare: The Rest of the Story (NY Times Op-Ed piece by Bill Keller) – This story highlights accountable care as part of the Affordable Care Act and features Cornerstone Health Care CEO Grace Terrell, MD. For Medicaid Reform in North Carolina, Try Accountable Care (Huffington Post piece by Paul Shorkey) ACO Veterans Share Lessons from the […]

Becker’s Hospital Review, a leading industry publication, selected six North Carolina accountable care organizations (ACO) they deemed worth watching among 100 nationwide. ACOs were selected for inclusion in this “top 100″ list based on the number of physicians involved and lives covered, as well as the lifespan of the ACO, whether it has multi-payer arrangements, and whether it recently struck new […]

The business model at Key Physicians, an organization of more than 220 independent physicians in Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston Counties, has been evolving over the last four years from a traditional Independent Physician Association (IPA) to an accountable care organization (ACO) model. The constant throughout the process has been improving the quality of care […]

The Western North Carolina Pediatric Collaborative is not an accountable care organization, but the Collaborative’s story serves as an example of how an ACO could develop organically when a group of doctors and community health providers come together to reap the benefits of collaboration and accountability to their patients and their community. “This process and […]

Cornerstone is recognized as perhaps the most fully developed example of accountable care in the state at this time. With 367 providers, Cornerstone is one of the fastest growing physician groups in the southeast. It is a physician-owned and led multi-disciplinary practice with over 85 locations in communities throughout central North Carolina. Dr. Grace Terrell, […]

It’s not easy becoming an Accountable Care Organization (ACO), but at least one fledgling North Carolina ACO, believed “it was the right thing to do for our patients.” When Coastal Carolina Health Care, P.A. (CCHC) in New Bern was considering forming an ACO, they thought, “should we do it now, or wait? There was a […]