Data show that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' Alternative Quality Contract, the insurer's version of an ACO, saw "a small but significant positive effect" on pediatric care quality, according ot a study published in Pediatrics.
In 2009, BCBS Massachusetts implemented an AQC, an arrangement that covers baseline continuum care and gives pay-for-performance bonuses for improved quality care metrics.
Researchers found care quality metrics for children with chronic illness increased by 1.8 percent under an AQC, compared to care quality metrics for children not under an AQC.
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