Collaborative Health Systems (CHS), a Universal American company (NYSE:UAM), announced today that five Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) formed in partnership with primary care physicians were named to the 100 ACOs to Know 2016 list published by Becker’s Hospital Review, a publication for healthcare leaders.

The ACOs selected for the 2016 list are:

  • Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas (Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX)
  • Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas (Houston, TX)
  • Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI)
  • Maryland Collaborative Care (Silver Spring, MD)
  • Virginia Collaborative Care (Fairfax, VA)

The ACOs were selected for their excellence in quality and the ability to drive down costs and take on risk. Becker's Hospital Review has published a version of the list annually since 2012. A full version of the Becker’s list is available here.

Jeffery Spight, president of CHS, commented on the selection and the ability of CHS providers to take on progressively greater risk. “We’re proud of the ACOs selected for the Becker’s list of 100 ACOs to Know 2016 and its recognition of excellence. Our providers in all five ACOs named to the list have taken on greater risk in the past year, a change made possible by steady improvement in their ability to coordinate the care of their beneficiaries by utilizing data and care management protocols.”

Erin Page, president of Accountable Care Coalition of North Texas and Accountable Care Coalition of Southeast Texas, a Next Generation ACO Model, added: “Congratulations to our provider partners in Dallas/Ft. Worth and Houston for being included in the Becker’s list this year. These providers, mostly primary care physicians, have been working with us in risk-bearing Medicare Advantage contracts for many years. Now, through risk-bearing accountable care organizations, the providers in these markets will demonstrate how they can lower healthcare costs and improve quality for their other Medicare beneficiaries as well.”

About Collaborative Health Systems

Collaborative Health Systems (CHS), a Universal American company (NYSE: UAM), is a management services organization that partners with primary care physicians as they move to value-based payment systems. Our core belief is that primary care physicians are in the best position to influence the quality and cost of healthcare. CHS provides comprehensive support for its physician partners by providing actionable data to help coordinate care and helping practices change behavior to meet the new quality requirements of the value-based payment system.

CHS currently manages one Next Generation ACO Model, and 22 MSSP ACOs, with approximately 5,000 providers, mostly primary care physicians, covering 239,000 Medicare beneficiaries. For more information, visit www.CollaborativeHealthSystems.com.

About Universal American Corp.

Universal American (NYSE: UAM), through our family of healthcare companies, provides health benefits to people covered by Medicare. We are dedicated to working collaboratively with healthcare professionals, especially primary care physicians, in order to improve the health and well-being of those we serve and reduce healthcare costs. For more information on Universal American, please visit our website at www.UniversalAmerican.com.