Long-term care providers at summit call for collaboration in ACOs to lower the cost of care

American Health Care Association CEO and President Mark Parkinson on Tuesday called for collaboration across all segments of the healthcare sector at the second annual National Accountable Care Organization Summit.

Parkinson was a featured speaker on the subject of long-term care providers in ACOs at the three-day summit. He has strongly advocated for the inclusion of nursing homes in ACOs, describing skilled nursing facilities and ACOs as “perfect partners.” Now in the developmental stage, ACOs are intended to create incentives for healthcare providers to work together to treat an individual patient across various care settings.

“AHCA supports Dr. Berwick's mission to reduce the cost of healthcare while at the same time improving quality,” said Parkinson in his address. “Properly structured accountable care organizations have the ability to bring about this outcome and skilled nursing facilities can play a critical role.”

David Gifford, M.D., AHCA's senior vice president for quality and regulatory affairs, and Dr. Neil Kurtz, M.D., president and CEO of provider chain Golden Living, were both featured faculty at the summit. Dr. Gifford served on a panel for the topic of fostering better care coordination. Kurtz spoke on a panel highlighting providers who help support ACOs while Gifford was a panelist for a session about fostering better care coordination. Other topics covered at the event included: core competencies of successful ACOs, models for ACO implementation, and methods for lowering medical costs through payment and care models.

The summit was sponsored by The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice.