Six St. Louis ACOs — which care for more than 225,000 patients — have saved almost $58 million to date and had average quality scores of 94 percent in 2017.
The organizations are BJC HealthCare, Mercy, Missouri Health Plus, St. Louis Physician Alliance, SSM Health and St. Luke's, a spokesperson for BJC wrote in an email to Becker's.
ACOs have expanded in recent years: In 2015, there were 480 Medicare ACOs, compared to 561 in January 2018. They care for more than 12.3 million Medicare fee-for-service patients nationwide, according to the spokesperson.
BJC specifically had an overall quality score in 2020 of 98.75 percent, which rose from 2019's score of 93.13 percent, according to an internal article shared with Becker's. The BJC ACO also saved $12.7 million for Medicare. Since it became an ACO in 2012, it has saved over $44 million.
"The BJC ACO provides a full continuum of services through an integrated network of healthcare delivery settings in Missouri and Illinois," BJC Medical Group President Doug Pogue, MD, said. "BJC's network of physicians take care of seniors in a very positive way. BJC ACO collaborates with physicians, making patients healthier and allowing us to follow patients during their care in a more coordinated, transparent way."