A group of federally qualified health centers in northwestern California have teamed up to form an accountable care organization and have applied to join the Medicare Shared Savings Program in January 2014, according to a North Bay Business Journal report.
The FQHCs are Alliance Medical Center in Healdsburg, Calif., Santa Rosa (Calif.) Community Health Centers, West County Health Centers in Guerneville, Calif., Petaluma (Calif.) Health Center, Clinic Ole in Napa County, Calif., and Coastal Health Alliance in Marin County, Calif., according to the report. Together, they would form Redwood Community Care Organization.
If the Redwood Community Care Organization is accepted into the Shared Savings Program, it would be the first Medicare ACO based on FQHCs, according to the report. The organization would cover about 6,000 Medicare beneficiaries.
The newest MSSP performance year will begin in January next year. CMS accepted applications for the newest class of Medicare ACOs through July.
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