NCQA Offers ACO Accreditation Review

In January, the NCQA named six organizations that agreed to be first to undergo the accreditation process to be an ACO. The results will be announced by Dec. 31, Thomas says.

They are:

•  Billings Clinic, Billings, MT

•  Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

•  Crystal Run Healthcare, Middletown, NY

•  Essentia Health, Duluth, MN

•  HealthPartners, Minneapolis, MN

?  Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, Houston, TX

Thomas says that the accreditation criteria may be applied to organizations working within Medicare ACO, or health plan models as well, although some of the criteria, such as measures for pediatric care or drug abuse and behavioral health care, are keyed for a population younger than age 65.

See Also:

• 89 ACOs Open for Business 
• Report: The Unsettled State of the ACO