MercyOne will participate in a 2023 accountable care organization (ACO) with Signify Health, as MercyOne transitions to risk-based payment arrangements, according to a release.
Signify Health is a healthcare platform that uses advanced analytics, technology and nationwide health care networks to create value-based payment programs.
The new ACO will support MercyOne’s Population Health Services Organization (PHSO), designed to help rural providers implement risk-based payment and better manage total cost of care for Iowa Medicare patients, the release said.
“Signify Health is a trusted collaborator that will help us continue to prepare our rural partners for risk-based payment,” said Derek Novak, MercyOne PHSO president, in a statement.
The PHSO, which currently operates as a clinically-integrated network, will use Signify Health’s unique population health methodologies, in-home services, data and technology infrastructure to advance in value-based care in rural Iowa. MercyOne will work with independent providers in a Signify-supported collaborative ACO to minimize the statistical variance of savings and losses smaller ACOs may experience and protect against risk.
In 2020 and 2021, 100% of Signify Health’s collaborative ACO participants earned shared savings.
MercyOne is a connected system of healthcare facilities, headquartered in Clive.
Earlier this month, MercyOne and Genesis Health System, Davenport, announced that the two organizations intend to partner in the future. In a joint press release, MercyOne and Genesis said they have signed a letter of intent to develop a strategic partnership.
While they did not use the word ‘merger,’ the two health organizations said they are now conducting additional due diligence and working toward finalizing terms of a definitive agreement. In the Quad Cities region, MercyOne operates MercyOne Clinton Medical Center.
In July, Mercy Iowa City opted to remain affiliated with the MercyOne health network after an extensive search to find a new healthcare partner was unsuccessful, despite several proposals from other larger healthcare systems.
