“March 1st marks the first official day where Massachusetts Medicaid (MassHealth) members will be served by the new, innovative MassHealth Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program. Over the past eighteen months, an immense amount of preparation to advance this effort has been undertaken by MassHealth, care providers throughout the state, Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) and patient advocates. These organizations and individuals collaborated on an array of complex issues to help develop a program aiming to improve the healthcare experience for Medicaid patients through enhanced care coordination and better outcomes, while also addressing state healthcare spending and reducing unnecessary utilization.  Stakeholders have been working diligently to ensure a smooth transition to the new plan.

This program is not the first Medicaid ACO initiative in the country, but is one of the most ambitious in terms of the percentage of our Medicaid population that will be affected, the downside risk that is required of all ACOs, and the amount of detail put into its development.  MHA is proud of the efforts of our member hospitals, health systems, and physician organizations in working with the Baker Administration toward a successful launch.  We look forward to seeing the MassHealth ACO program succeed in the months and years ahead.”


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