Jennifer Moore
PresidentPresident's Message
As I look back on yet another extraordinary year, I’m humbled by the resilience, energy and innovative spirit the staff and participants of the MaineHealth ACO have displayed in the face of a tenacious pandemic. This report attests to their many achievements, realized in close collaboration with our payer partners. I urge you to explore this site and discover how positive change can occur when talented and dedicated people come together united by a common cause—even under the most difficult circumstances.
In 2021, over 1,700 providers participated in the MaineHealth ACO, serving 263,000 beneficiaries in Maine and New Hampshire through 16 value-based contracts with government and private payers. Despite pandemic pressures, the ACO saw unprecedented success in achieving health care savings. Contracts reconciled in 2021, reflecting performance in 2020, generated shared savings and quality incentive payments totaling $26 million. That’s a significant increase from previous years, reflecting the effectiveness of quality, utilization and clinical documentation improvement initiatives undertaken in close coordination with private practices, local hospital systems and the MaineHealth system as a whole.
Beyond financial outcomes, 2021 saw some exciting innovations at the ACO. I’m particularly excited about the launch of our Value-based Opportunities Report, a data-rich and accessible report of contract performance metrics in each of our three drivers of success – quality, cost/utilization and appropriate coding. We piloted this with each of MaineHealth’s local health systems and St. Mary’s. Never before have we shared such granular, timely information with our participants and they responded with enthusiasm. A similar report piloted for private practices was also well received.
Along with bringing in the new, we also built on the strength of existing work in 2021. Our “Where to Go for Care” infographic, originally developed in 2019 to help patients identify alternatives to the emergency room, continued to be adapted for use by specialty practices and, most significantly, to meet the needs of Maine Behavioral Healthcare clients.
I’ve mentioned that the ACO team, participants and payers all collaborated to achieve great things this year. I’d also like to acknowledge the extraordinary dedication of the MaineHealth ACO Board of Directors. We’re fortunate to have such astute, experienced and thoughtful individuals on the board, many who’ve served for years, others who’ve recently joined us.
Thank you to all who’ve contributed to the ACO’s success in 2021.
Jennifer Moore
President