KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 23, 2019 – Caravan Health, the nation’s leader in accountable care, today announced that a consortium of seven high-performing physician groups formed a new Pathways to Success accountable care organization (ACO) named Stratum Med ACO, under the company’s collaborative ACO model, effective July 1.

Stratum Med is a collaborative alliance of physician led groups and organizations. Seven of its key members have come together to form the Stratum Med ACO in partnership with Caravan Health. Inaugural participants include Carle Foundation Hospital based in Champaign, IL; Christie Clinic in Champaign, IL; Confluence Health in Wenatchee, WA; Hutchinson Clinic in Hutchinson, KS; Jefferson City Medical Group in Jefferson City, MO; McFarland Clinic in Ames, IA; and The Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines, IA.

 “Our ACO is made up of high-performing, like-minded, physician-led organizations with a demonstrated history of success in the markets we individually serve,” said Andrew Perry, CEO, McFarland Clinic in Ames, IA and Board Chair, Stratum Med. “Over the past 15 to 20 years, our groups have established a deep understanding and a sustained level of trust with one another and we are excited to collaborate on a broader, national scale utilizing our skills in managing risk.” 

The collaborative Stratum Med ACO will strengthen the connection between these physician-driven organizations while providing a platform to continue success in value-based payment. They can earn a greater percent of shared savings while taking more accountability for the cost of their patient care as they move into risk. This new organization includes some of the strongest performing physician practices nationwide, ranging from independent midsize physician groups to large integrated health systems.

“These high performers have chosen to be among the first to dive into the exciting new world of Pathways to Success,” said Lynn Barr, founder of Caravan Health. “By following our proven methodology, we’re helping these physician groups better serve their patients with the tools and the confidence to improve care, quality outcomes, and generate shared savings.”

Caravan Health’s methodology brings together independent community health systems to form larger ACOs that can overcome random statistical variation, which can skew the financial results of ACOs, even if they are doing the hard work of practice transformation. By joining together into collaborative ACOs, the independent providers will gain the benefits of scale to confidently move into risk-based payment while maintaining their autonomy.

“We believe our history and pre-existing partnerships, combined with Caravan’s proven methodology, really differentiates the Stratum Med ACO from others in the country and positions us to be very effective and successful in driving quality, cost effective care,” added David Zielke, CFO, The Iowa Clinic in West Des Moines, IA and Board Chair, Stratum Med ACO.

Early in 2019, Caravan Health launched the largest Medicare Shared Savings Program ACO to date with more than 220,000 lives. This new Pathways to Success ACO builds on that foundation and helps Caravan Health partners bring better care to over 625,000 attributed Medicare beneficiaries. Caravan-affiliated ACOs lead the nation in quality and savings. In 2017, Caravan ACOs saved Medicare $54 million and achieved an average of 94 percent in quality.

About Caravan Health: Caravan Health is the national leader of successful accountable care and population health programs for community health systems. Caravan Health works with more than 250 health systems, 25,000 providers, and hundreds of thousands of patient lives to drive quality, financial benefits, and strong physician relationships in accountable care organizations. For more information visit www.caravanhealth.com.

About Stratum Med:  Stratum Med, incorporated in 1996, is a collaborative alliance of physician-owned and health system-employed physician groups that have come together to drive value, leverage cost savings through aggregation and to provide a platform for networking and shared learning. Overall, Stratum Med engages with 14 shareholder groups and over 80 client groups, representing over 11,000 physicians and providers across the country.  For more information visit www.stratummed.com.