Anthem Blue Cross of California, the state's largest for-profit payer, announced Monday it saved almost $8 million in a one-year period ending last June through its accountable care programs, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
By reducing unnecessary tests and procedures, and taking a preventive approach to chronic diseases, Anthem's ACOs produced decreases in spending on inpatient care, office visits and outpatient care. It also reported a 7.3 percent drop in hospital admissions per 1,000 patients, according to the report.
However, the payer did report a 4.2 percent increase in generic-drug expenses, which Anthem said was a result of improved drug compliance among patients with chronic conditions, according to the report.
"Any savings we can achieve are important because they contribute to this ongoing notion we have that we need to bend the cost curve," Gerald Kominski, PhD, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research told The San Diego Union-Tribune. "I'd say that these results are encouraging. They're suggesting that in a relatively short time period, they’ve been able to get some results."
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