Serving the Value-Based Care Community
February 18, 2022
Welcome to this week's issue of VBC Newsstand brought to you by VBCExhibitHall.com
A large group of 222 healthcare organizations, both national healthcare associations and provider organizations, including accountable care organizations (ACOs), sent a letter on Monday, February 14, to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, urging him not to cancel the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) model, but instead make adjustments to it. Among the 222 organizations were the Los Angeles-based America’s Physician Groups (APG) and the Washington, D.C.-based NAACOS, the National Association of ACOs.
Allison Brennan is the Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) in Washington, D.C. where she helps develop and advocate for policies to benefit ACOs. In this special bonus episode, she provides an extensive update on health policy and directly addresses the critics of the Global and Professional Direct Contracting (GPDC) Model. This episode was recorded and released on February 16, 2022 in order to address the alarming concerns related to the potential cancellation of the Direct Contracting program. Read NAACOs’ open letter to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Check out this episode for the latest health policy updates and to learn more about this controversial GPDC issue in the value-based care movement!
Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) enrollment has grown more rapidly than fee-for-service Medicare Enrollment in the last decade, raising questions about changes in the characteristics of different enrollee populations for Medicare Part A only, Medicare Part A & B and Medicare Part C. Microsoft’s Precision Population Health Group partnered with CareJourney to advance understanding of the changes of these three different enrollment types by leveraging the 100% All Medicare Eligibility Enrollment data that CareJourney has access to through its Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Virtual Research Data Center (VRDC).
Patient navigators could be effective in closing racial disparities in primary care access, according to new data, with the healthcare professionals able to connect more Hispanic patients than if patients went at it alone. The report, published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, particularly showed that Hispanic patients working with a patient navigator were three times more likely to have primary care access than those who did not. This comes as Hispanic people face a significant disparity in primary care access, the researchers, who hailed from the Keck School of Medicine at UCLA, pointed out. Despite care access gains made following Affordable Care Act passage, low-income Latino people were still less likely to have a primary care provider.
Sponsored Webinars
UPCOMING WEBINARS:

We do not have any upcoming webinar announcements at this time. Keep an eye out for new additions to our schedule here and on our Events Page. Also, check our our Webinar Archive on a variety of value-based care related topics.
Upcoming Conferences
Rise National Conference 2022
March 7 - 9, 2022 | Nashville, MD

NAACOS 2022 Spring Conference
April 27 - 29, 2022 | Baltimore, MD

American Physician Groups Annual Conference 2022
June 1 - 3, 2022 | Washington, D.C.
FLASH INTERVIEW:
This week's focus: PHM software best in KLAS
Each week we showcase one of our solution providers in a 4-5 minute interview and ask them what they bring to the VBC Community and what sets them apart.
Today's guest:
Platinum Level Exhibitors
Thank you to our Platinum Level exhibitors. These organizations offer the absolute highest quality products & services to the ACO & IPA community. To learn more & visit their interactive booths, click on the logos below:
Gold Level Exhibitors
Thank you to our Gold Level exhibitors. To learn more & visit their interactive booths, click on the logos below:
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