To: Participant Physicians and APCs

From: Jeff Bahr, MD, President, Medical Group – Advocate Health Midwest

ACO REACH Participation Update



Since January, we’ve been one of a small handful of participants in a new federal program focused squarely on health equity, ACO REACH.  In these first few months, our population health partners have continued to learn and put in place new programs that will allow us to help our patients in the program even more, such as transportation, mail-order pharmacy and a Skilled Nursing Facility At Home program.

What you need to know

• You will actively participate in the program as a Participant Clinician based on serving a patient population that will benefit most from this model.
• This means you have transitioned from a Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP) ACO to ACO REACH.
• CMS requires us to provide you with the required ACO REACH Participant Clinician Notice.
• Tomorrow, you will receive another email with a link to the agreement between the ACO and CMS with a button to click to acknowledge your receipt.

What this means for you

• You have the ability to provide additional services and benefits to your patients. Any Medicare fee-for-service patient who is in the program can be identified via a flag in their Epic profile.
• Connect your patients who are in ACO REACH to resources including transportation to-and-from medical services, a Skilled Nursing Facility at Home program, telehealth visits, care management home visits, post-discharge home visits and more. Contact your care manager or practice manager for assistance.

Thank you for all your work on behalf of your patients, and your partnership to keep Advocate Health at the national forefront of health equity. To learn more about ACO REACH, review these FAQ. Please contact Government Programs with questions.