Saint John's to Get $2 Million Grant

Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica has announced that it will receive a grant of $2 million from Blue Shield of California to help the Health Center participate more effectively in an accountable care organization. (ACO). 18 California hospitals, health systems, clinics and medical groups – including many serving underserved populations  -  were awarded grants, totaling nearly $20 million.

What exactly are ACO’s?

ACOs - a key part of healthcare reform - are newly created networks of providers (hospitals) and payors (health care insurance providers) that share responsibility for treating and managing the care of patients. Financial and clinical integration among the participating organizations is intended to foster greater efficiency and improve quality of care.

Saint John's will use the grant to implement a quality improvement program to achieve clinical integration among participating physicians, increase patient satisfaction, enable timely medical records, and increase use of generic drugs while decreasing readmissions and avoidable days.

"ACOs offer a new model for affordable, high-quality healthcare, and this grant from Blue Shield of California will significantly assist us as we develop our own integrated network," said Lou Lazatin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Saint John's Health Center.

Paul Markovich, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Shield of California said, “We received nearly 60 grant applications from providers around the state. This demonstrates overwhelming interest among providers in collaborating to reduce costs and enhance the quality of care.” He continued, “our grantees include a community clinic serving safety net populations, the largest Federally Qualified Health Center in the state, several applicants seeking to better manage patients with chronic diseases like diabetes, and two children's hospitals. We're proud to support all of our grantees as they work to materially improve care and succeed under federal health reform."

The ACO grants are being made as part of Blue Shield's 2-percent pledge, a commitment the company made last June to limit annual net income to 2 percent of revenue and to return the difference collected above that amount to customers and the community.

Blue Shield of California was asked, “How long will the 2 percent pledge be maintained?” Johnny Wong, spokesperson for Blue Shield of California, replied, “this is a long-term commitment. There is no specified end date.”

“How will you allocate any cost savings that will come about as a result of these ACO’s?”

Wong replied, “these ACOs are intended to deliver higher-quality care at lower costs. We ultimately want to see those cost savings in the form of more affordable healthcare coverage for all Californians.”