CMS Says Physician Group Project Has Cut Costs, Improved Care

Last month CMS announced that its five-year Physician Group Practice Demonstration has reduced costs and improved quality of care. The project was launched in April 2005 and formed the blueprint for the Medicare accountable care organization program in the federal health reform law. The project offered financial bonuses to 10 health systems for meeting performance targets among 32 quality measures and spending at least 2% less on Medicare beneficiaries than nearby facilities. Seven of the systems met quality requirements for all 32 quality measures in the fifth year, and the other three systems met 30 of the measures. Over the five-year period, the 10 systems reduced costs by $134 million.

For more related information:

• "CMS: Four Medical Groups To Share Medicare Pilot Savings" (AHA News, 8/8).
• "Medicare Extends Experiment in Paying Doctors" (Abelson, "Prescriptions," New York Times, 8/8).
• "CMS: 7 of 10 Doc Groups in Demonstration Now Meet Performance Benchmarks" (Zigmond, Modern Physician, 8/8).