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New Accountable Care Organization Pilot Program PDF Print E-mail
For Immediate Release
July 15, 2010

Contact: Communications Director
Office of the Governor
603-271-2121

Governor Lynch, NH Health Care Providers Announce Innovative Health Care Pilot Program Aimed at Improving Quality, Lowering Costs

New Accountable Care Organization Pilot Program Part of Governor's Continuing Efforts to Help Keep Health Care Affordable to be Piloted in Keene

CONCORD - Governor John Lynch today joined members of the Citizens Health Initiative, health care providers and insurance industry officials in announcing a new pilot project aimed at encouraging health care providers to collaborate and focus more on prevention and disease management, which will result in healthier patients and reduced growth in health care costs.
Health care providers and New Hampshire's major insurance companies from five locations across New Hampshire have agreed to participate in this new innovative pilot program. This pilot will move New Hampshire away from the fee-for-service model and instead give health care providers incentives to spend more time with their patients, to work with their patients to prevent new illnesses and better manage existing illnesses, and to collaborate better with other health care providers.

Under this new model, providers and health care systems profit from providing good, cost-effective care to patients rather than from seeing as many patients as possible.
"Right now, we're not spending our health care dollars the right way and through this pilot project we are going to work together in New Hampshire to change that. Our current health care system rewards providers for seeing as many patients as possible. We're going to change that. Under this pilot project, we are moving to a system where health care providers will profit from spending time with their patients and keeping them healthy - and that's the way it should be," Governor Lynch said.

"Two years ago, I challenged health care and insurance industry leaders to work with us to develop a New Hampshire solution for improving quality and reducing the growth in health care costs," Governor Lynch said. "Everyone at the table recognized that our current health care system was not working for business, for providers or patients. That's why we are taking action to change our health care system now, the New Hampshire way, by working together."
The Citizens Health Initiative, along with a group of industry and business leaders, worked to develop the Accountable Care Organization Pilot Program.

Five providers have agreed to voluntarily participate in this innovative pilot program:
  • A north country initiative that includes Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, Cottage Hospital, Littleton Regional Hospital, North Country Home Health and Hospice;
  • Central New Hampshire Health Partnership, which includes Mid-State Health Center, Speare Memorial Hospital, Genesis Behavioral Health, Newfound Area Nursing Association and Pemi-Baker Home Health and Hospice;
  • Cheshire Medical Center Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene;
  • Exeter Health Resources;
  • Southern New Hampshire Health System in Nashua.
"We are pleased to participate in this forward-thinking collaboration which focuses on quality, access and cost effective healthcare delivery. The types of initiatives being undertaken align nicely with Vision 2020, our healthiest community vision in which area health organizations, businesses, schools, city government, individuals and others are joining together to create the healthiest community in the nation," said John Schlegelmilch, MD who shares the Office of the President and serves as Medical Director at Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock Keene. "I applaud the leadership in the systems that have stepped forward to constructively address the unsustainable increases in health care costs. By leading the change towards accountability in health care delivery, they have firmly established themselves as part of the solution."