MCOs and ACOs Love the Model!
An interesting trend is occurring with MCOs (Managed Care Organizations) and ACOs (Accountable Care Organizations) and their relationships with hospices. Many are choosing to partner with hospices that do the Model over those that don’t. My jaw has dropped repeatedly since the end of 2012 and throughout this year as I witness hospices using the Model to sell value to strategic partners. This means that many MVI clients are poised well! Yea!
Of course, the ideas of “Every Patient, Every Time” and “The Creation of a High-Quality, Predictable Experience” are extremely appealing. With the patient/family as the centerpiece, where all aspects of the care experience are meticulously considered, AND with the economic house in order, it seems relatively easy to become the hospice partner of choice…even if there are 100 other hospices in the service area or region.
Value is value. Value sells. Quality and value will NOT go out of style. The creation of value is a sound and sustainable business strategy. How do you know if you’re “doing” value on an outlier level that would interest MCOs and ACOs?
- Can you grab ANY clinician and have the person describe the phases and actions of your proprietary visit structure?
- Can anyone call your hospice at any hour and receive a warm, compassionate and competent experience from the start of the call to the graceful transfer or follow-up?
- Are your On-Call costs (including Triage) 3% of NPR or less? More than 3% usually indicates sloppy visit practices (make-it-up-as-you-go hospice) and shift mentalities.
- When the MCO or ACO sees your People Development area and methods, are they “blown away?”
- Can you show the MCO or ACO that you know your costs by diagnosis, payer, referral source or other demographic? (So many hospices are primitive here. This makes differentiating yourself easy! Also, you’re going to be facing some pretty intense accountants in these deals. Know your stuff!)
- Does the MCO/ACO have CONFIDENCE in your proprietary system of care?
Bottom-line. MCO/ACOs want to partner with quality. They want both quality care and quality business performance. This quality must be impressive. Confidence in your system (not an individual) must be high and the experience that is ACTUALLY created must happen predictably. Every patient, every time. NO BS! Be the real deal!
~ Andrew Reed, CPA
