Who We Are

Redefining Quality for a Healthier Community

Welcome to North Central Arizona Accountable Care (NCAAC). We are a Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization that is redefining the way that healthcare is managed and delivered in Yavapai and Coconino counties.

Our focus is to provide individualized healthcare that meets the highest standards for quality by creating a network of providers that includes primary care physicians, specialists, Yavapai Regional Medical Center East and West, Northern Arizona Healthcare’s Flagstaff Medical Center and Verde Valley Medical Center, and other quality-focused healthcare providers.

North Central Arizona Accountable Care is physician governed and managed and our Vision of a Total Healing Environment includes:

  • Providing high quality healthcare that emphasizes wellness, disease prevention and chronic disease management.
  • Participating in activities to improve healthcare delivery and implementing effective clinical and administrative systems to strengthen communication and coordination.
  • Creating and promoting strategic provider alignment for greater collaboration.
  • Achieving improved care outcomes for individuals and reducing the growth of expenditures.

What is an ACO?

Your Healthcare Team, Working Together for You

An ACO is an Accountable Care Organization comprised of doctors, medical groups, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals who work together to deliver high-quality, coordinated care to the patients they serve. It’s called an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) because these healthcare professionals hold themselves responsible for the quality and results each patient receives.

What We Do

Accountable Care Means Responsible Care

Members of North Central Arizona Accountable Care work closely together to provide highly coordinated healthcare to patients throughout Yavapai, Coconino and Navajo counties.

Our quality-focused team features primary care physicians, medical specialists, outpatient medical service providers, Yavapai Regional Medical Center and Summit Healthcare. Every patient that receives care from a member of the North Central Arizona Accountable Care team benefits from transparent care coordination which is a hallmark of our organization.

Our patient base includes thousands of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries whose providers participate in our ACO. As an MSSP participant, we are accountable to meet 31 different quality measures for patient care that have been identified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. These quality measures are based on best practices and emphasize wellness, disease prevention and care coordination.

North Central Arizona Accountable Care’s formula for success is clear – emphasize patient choice and participation, maximize care coordination and quality, and reduce waste.

Using Technology

High Technology Supports Healthy Patient Outcomes

At North Central Arizona Accountable Care, we invest in the development of sophisticated information technology that allows us to carefully coordinate the health of each patient. Our ability to create a complete profile of each patient’s health empowers our medical teams to prevent disease, control chronic disease, emphasize wellness through education and intervention, and streamline care coordination.

We believe that our commitment to information technology fully supports our Mission to provide evidence-based care while maximizing the patient experience. By supporting evidence-based practices, we create measurable opportunities to deliver high-quality care that meets established standards for quality. This is good news for patients who deserve high quality care with more transparency at the lowest possible cost.

We realize that sharing information quickly and accurately is important to your good health. We also realize that your health information must be secure at all times. North Central Arizona Accountable Care strictly adheres to all HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) regulations so only those providers who have a need to see your information will have access to it.

Quality Measures

How We Measure Success

Ultimately, our success is measured by the health of our patients.

As a Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organization, North Central Arizona Accountable Care (NCAAC) is also required to meet strict quality guidelines created by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

CMS created the Medicare Shared Savings Program to help doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers to coordinate care for Medicare patients whose providers participate in an Accountable Care Organization like NCAAC.

The Medicare Shared Savings Program creates incentives for healthcare providers to work together to treat an individual patient across care settings—including doctor’s offices, hospitals, and long-term care facilities.

CMS has identified 31 different quality measures that NCAAC providers must meet to qualify for the incentives. When our providers meet these quality standards, we receive a bonus that is shared with all providers. When these quality standards are not met, we are penalized through reduced reimbursements.

• 31 Quality Measures

ACO Anonymous Reporting

Accountable Care Means Responsible Care

NCAAC CMS now has an online Compliance Reporting Tool that is accessible to all ACO-related individuals including Medicare Beneficiaries. This tool allows you to report any compliance concerns related to NCAAC CMS, and can be accessed by clicking the link below. You can report anonymously or provide your contact information. The information you submit will be transmitted to the NCAAC CMS Compliance Officer who will follow-up on the report. NCAAC CMS has a non-retaliation policy which means you don’t need to fear making a good faith report.

We rely on individuals like you to let us know when something is wrong. If you ever feel that you are being retaliated against, please email NCAAC CMS Compliance Officer: Amber Brake.

Anonymous Reporting Tool: Click Here

Public Disclosure of Arrangements Protected Under the ACO Participation Waiver

Public Disclosure of Arrangements Protected Under the ACO Participation Waiver North Central Arizona Accountable Care, LLC (“the ACO”) is currently participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (“MSSP”) through a Participation Agreement with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”). The ACO’s Participation Agreement went into effect on January 1, 2015, and had a term of three years. The Participation Agreement has been renewed for an additional three years, starting on January 1, 2018.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has provided a waiver of federal fraud and abuse laws for arrangements, entered into by an accountable care organization participating in the MSSP, that are reasonably related to the purposes of the MSSP (the “ACO Participation Waiver”). (See Interim final rule issued November 2, 2011, 76 Fed. Reg. 67992, and Final rule issued October 29, 2015, 80 Fed. Reg. 66726.)

One of the requirements of the ACO Participation Waiver is public disclosure of the arrangements. The purpose of this document is to provide the required public disclosure of arrangements involving the ACO, its participants, and/or its providers and suppliers, which fall under the Participation Waiver. The ACO has duly authorized the arrangements described below.

The ACO has also made a bona fide determination that each arrangement is reasonably related to the purposes of the MSSP – specifically, promoting accountability for the quality, cost, and overall care for a Medicare patient population as described in the MSSP; managing and coordinating care for Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries through an ACO; and encouraging investment in infrastructure and redesigned care processes for high quality and efficient service delivery for patients, including Medicare beneficiaries.

The ACO intends that these arrangements qualify for the ACO Participation Waiver as of January 1, 2015, which was the effective date of the ACO’s Participation Agreement with CMS.

Electronic Health Records Software and Services

On February 28, 2018 the ACO duly authorized Yavapai Community Hospital Association, dba Yavapai Regional Medical Center (“YRMC”), which is an ACO participant, to provide certain electronic health record (“EHR”) software and services to all physician practices that participate in the ACO. The purpose of these arrangements is to encourage physician ACO participants to implement the same EHR software that YRMC uses, and create a patient-centric, integrated, electronic medical record. (The arrangements are for ACO participants who are not employed by YRMC, because employed physicians already use the same EHR software as YRMC.)

The ACO believes these arrangements will give healthcare providers that participate in the ACO faster access to more comprehensive medical information about their patients, across different care settings. That will allow for more efficient delivery of care, better care coordination, increased security of patient information, lower administrative costs and burdens, and an overall improvement in the quality of care – all of which will benefit Medicare beneficiaries as well as other patients.

The terms and conditions of these arrangements will be set out in formal, written agreements between YRMC and each physician ACO participant that decides to accept the offer of EHR software and services.

 

   Public Reporting Information