Health Care Leaders Gather to Discuss Future of Accountable Care 

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Washington, DC

– Governor Mark Parkinson and Dr. David Gifford of the American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) today joined other health care professionals to lead the discussion of the future of affordable, high quality care at the second National Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Summit. The Summit gathered health care leaders from around the country and across the spectrum of health care to discuss the promise as well as the challenges and limitations of implementing ACOs. The three-day event is sponsored by The Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform at Brookings and the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy & Clinical Practice, and the National Journal partnered for media coverage.

“To be called on as a resource for this summit is an honor and an opportunity to learn from other leaders in the health care profession,” said Governor Mark Parkinson, President & CEO of AHCA/NCAL. “We all recognize the need for collaboration across the health care sector as we work toward creating a coordinated system that serves our patients with high quality, affordable care. Skilled nursing facilities are a vital part of the partnership within the health care profession.”

Governor Parkinson was a featured keynote speaker on the role of long term and post-acute care providers in accountable care.  Dr. Gifford, Senior Vice President of Quality & Regulatory Affairs at AHCA/NCAL, and Dr. Neil Kurtz, President and CEO of Golden Living nursing homes, a member organization of AHCA/NCAL, were both featured faculty at the Summit. Dr. Gifford served on a panel for the topic of fostering better care coordination. Dr. Neil Kurtz, spoke on a panel highlighting those health care providers who help to support ACOs. Topics from the summit include core competencies of successful ACOs, models for ACO implementation, and methods for lowering medical costs through payment and care models.

AHCA/NCAL, the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute care providers, represents nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities was and  the only representative of the long term care profession present at the Summit. As the nation continues to see a growing number of aging Americans in need of long term care, skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) will play a pivotal role in ACOs. 

Earlier this year, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released proposed new rules to help doctors, hospitals, and other providers to better coordinate care for Medicare patients through ACOs.  As part of a larger federal initiative to improve the quality of health care, ACOs are intended to create incentives for health care providers to work together to treat an individual patient across care settings – including doctor’s offices, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. Improving coordination and communication among physicians and other providers and suppliers through ACOs will help improve the care Medicare beneficiaries receive, while also helping lower costs. According to the analysis of the proposed regulation for ACOs, Medicare could potentially save as much as $960 million over three years.

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As the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute care providers, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Americans. Compassionate and caring employees provide essential care to one million individuals in our 11,000 not-for-profit and proprietary member facilities.