St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) shared $40 million in savings with the Federal Government as a reward for controlling costs in the Lehigh Valley while providing high quality medical care to Medicare patients in 2023.

St. Luke’s takes prides in its well-deserved reputation as the #1 health system in the Lehigh Valley. News of the savings, which was published in a recent government report, is further data-driven objective proof that St. Luke’s achieves the best clinical results in the region.

St. Luke’s was paid 40% of the Medicare savings because it achieved a high quality score while providing cost-effective care to older and disabled patients. St. Luke’s is the only health network in the Lehigh Valley to receive a payment from the Medicare Shared Savings Plan (MSSP), which is administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“St. Luke’s has earned the distinction of being the only health care network in the Lehigh Valley to earn a MSSP payment,” says Christina Lewis, Executive Director of St. Luke’s Care Network. “The Network achieved this remarkable accomplishment by keeping costs lower than expected while also delivering high quality care.”

An accountable care organization (ACE) comprises physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, other clinicians, as well as hospitals and other healthcare facilities that come together voluntarily to provide high-quality, cost- efficient care to Medicare and Medicaid patients.

St. Luke’s formed its ACO in 2018, which today includes roughly 2,000 physicians and advanced practitioners, both employed by SLUHN and independent community offices, serving 42,000 Medicare patients who selected primary care physicians participating in the ACO. Since 2018, St. Luke’s has saved Medicare a total of $121 million.

“This recognition and shared-savings reflect our providers’ commitment to collaboration and evidence-based medicine as we control costs by providing the right care in the right place and at the right time,” Lewis said.

St. Luke’s initiatives that improved care while reducing costs include the following:

• Proactive care management services driven by artificial intelligence (AI) analytical tools to identify patients at higher risk for poorer outcomes.
• Use of evidence-based, patient-centric clinical protocols developed by physicians and other clinical leaders across the spectrum of care including hospital, outpatient, home care, and skilled nursing facilities.
• Real-time clinical decision support tools in the electronic health record to aid in the ordering of the most cost-effective tests.
• Focus on preventive care services and other initiatives to reduce avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions.

The CMS MSSP was started in 2013 to stem the continuously increasing cost of healthcare in the U.S. while maintaining a focus on the delivery of high-quality care. Benchmarks for the MSSP include both expected total cost of care, based on the complexity of the population served, and quality measures compared to peer providers.

St. Luke’s has received reimbursement for four years in a row – the only network in the Lehigh Valley to do so.

For more information on the CMS MSSP, go to: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/medicare-shared-savings-program-continues-deliver-meaningful-savings-and-high-quality-health-care.

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 20,000 employees providing services at 15 campuses and 350+ outpatient sites.  With annual net revenue of $3.4 billion, the Network’s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke’s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital.

Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania.  In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley’s first and only four-year medical school campus.  It also operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 52 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with more than 500 residents and fellows. In 2022, St. Luke’s, a member of the Children’s Hospital Association, opened the Lehigh Valley’s first and only free-standing facility dedicated entirely to kids.

SLUHN is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare’s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction.  It is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World’s Best Hospital.  The Network’s flagship University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from Fortune/PINC AI 10 years in a row, including in 2023 when it was identified as THE #4 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY.  In 2021, St. Luke’s was identified as one of the 15 Top Health Systems nationally.  Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.  The Network is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest-cost providers.

 

Information provided to TVL by:
Sam Kennedy