Equality Health, a leader in value-based care, announced that it has joined Accountable for Health (A4H) as a founding Executive Council member company. A4H was founded in May of this year as a nonpartisan national advocacy and policy analysis organization focused on accelerating the adoption of effective accountable care.
Accountable care is an alternative payment model within value-based care that is focused on delivering enhanced, whole patient care resulting in better outcomes and reduced healthcare cost.
As one of seven founding Executive Council member companies, Equality Health will provide leadership and strategic direction to A4H’s advocacy, research, and educational priorities, lending its voice, expertise and real-world experiences of successfully operating and scaling value-based care through its provider and payer partnerships across the past eight years.
The transition to outcomes-based alternative payment models from traditional fee-for-service models has been challenging, requiring the expert insights of individuals and organizations to come together to shed light on and foster greater understanding of its benefits. With the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asserting that most Medicare and Medicaid payments transition to value-based models by 2030, the accelerated adoption of these proven alternative payment methods is critical.
Equality Health will work alongside A4H leadership and the nearly 40 member organizations to share expertise and insights from its distinct value-based care delivery and payment model to help A4H advance accountable care adoption. As a successful value-based care enabler, Equality Health has a unique vantage point at the intersection of healthcare providers, payers, and patients, and its value-based network today includes 3,500 primary care practices accountable for 750,000 lives across three states.
“Equality Health leads by example – working each day to address health equity issues, transition to alternative payment models, and reinforce the ways accountable care improves the lives of patients,” said A4H CEO Mara McDermott. “Because of their Medicaid-first approach, Equality Health brings unique perspective and experience that will help overcome challenges in today’s health care ecosystem, especially among underserved populations. We look forward to partnering with Hugh Lytle and his team to advance and advocate for accountable care.”
Through its efforts, A4H aims to promote accountable care as a means of addressing challenges related to healthcare access and affordability. The organization works with policymakers, stakeholders, and decision makers in the healthcare sector to encourage the adoption of accountable care practices that improve access to quality healthcare services and make them more affordable for individuals and communities.
“Advancing the state of accountable care across the U.S. healthcare system is truly a team effort, requiring collaboration between healthcare providers, payers, policymakers, technology innovators, as well as advocacy organizations like A4H,” said Equality Health founder and CEO Hugh Lytle. “Millions of individuals will benefit from the shift to accountable care models, due to increased focus on care management, coordination, and better outcomes. We are proud work with A4H on this crucial work to accelerate adoption.”
Last month, Equality Health announced its Equality Health at Home care program – an innovative initiative through which on-staff community health workers, nurse practitioners, and chaplains deliver in-person and virtual care at home to patients facing complex medical issues and experiencing barriers to managing their health. The program aims to overcome a range of challenges and reconnect patients to their primary care provider — driving better health outcomes through timely and appropriate delivery of care.
