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ACOs: Do They, in Fact, Improve the Quality of Care and Reduce Costs? With Nicole Bradberry and Kelly Conroy
This Relentless Health Value podcast episode features Empactful Capital Partner, Nicole Bradberry, along with colleague Kelly Conroy.
Nicole Bradberry spent 16 years on the payer side. She was instrumental in a lot of the quality and affordability programs, which led to her founding the Florida Association of ACOs, which she leads in her role as CEO. Kelly helped start the very successful Palm Beach ACO and was the executive director there for a number of years. She’s also a co-founder with Nicole and founding board member at the Florida Association of ACOs, as well as a director of Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting.
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MENU OF TOPICS
05:44 ACOs: What’s in it for the patient?
08:10 Is the upside of ACOs enough to justify the cost?
11:23 “You can either keep on doing what you’re doing and end up like Blockbuster, or you can really pivot and be Netflix.”—Nicole
12:26 Why would MIPS incentivize providers to sign up for an ACO?
15:22 What are the big ACO failures?
18:27 “Just as patient engagement is a number one key success indicator, so is physician engagement.”—Kelly
19:57 “It’s not individual benchmarks; it’s the whole ACO.”—Kelly
20:15 “Honestly, data is key to that conversation.”—Nicole
21:55EP321 with Rich Klasco, MD.
22:14 What are the essentials for a successful ACO?
27:31 Who do you need to add to the ACO mix?
28:55 How does home health play into the ACO system?
29:33 “The whole behavioral health—just adding in a really good care team.”—Kelly
29:48 “There’s just a whole host of things that having all this data opens up the physician and the provider’s eyes.”—Kelly
32:56 “We really think fee for service is the competition.”—Kelly
About Nicole Bradberry, Operating Partner of Empactful Capital
Nicole is the Founder & CEO of the Florida Association of ACOs (FLAACOs). FLAACOs is the premier professional organization for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) throughout Florida which provides education and collaboration in the fee-for-value healthcare space. Nicole is also the Founder of ValueH Network which aggregates high-performing value-based care network providers in order to enable the best performance in value-based / risk-based contracts.
Most recently Nicole co-founded MIND 24-7 which runs 24-hour walk-in crisis and express mental health facilities with a focus on immediate access, quality care, and the understanding that mental health and substance abuse drive significant health costs. Previously, Nicole was the Co-Founder and Managing Partner for Cura Health Management which creates and manages ACOs and other risk-based contracts. She was also the Executive Director for ACO Health Partners, a Cura fully owned MSSP ACO based in Florida. Cura Health Management is a value-based enablement company that provides services to Providers in value-based healthcare payment models.
Nicole holds a bachelor’s degree in Statistics from the University of Florida. She is currently an Operating Partner for Empactful Capital, on the Board of Spatially and Rose Health, a former Board of Director for Diabetes America, a member of Chief (national women’s network), is a member of the Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation, prior Board member of the Boys and Girls Club of NE Florida, prior Co-Chair of the ambulatory committee for Central/North Florida HIMSS, Dean’s Council member for University of North Florida and member of the Junior League. She has been recognized for her personal and professional achievements many times, recently as the nation’s Outstanding Midmarket IT Leader of the Year and one of the Business Journal’s “Women of Influence.” She is often found on the speaker faculty for healthcare conferences focused on ACOs, Population Health and Value-Based Care. She is passionate about changing healthcare and enabling physicians to provide high-quality, cost-effective and consumer-focused care.
Learn more about Nicole Bradberry - LinkedIn
About Kelly A. Conroy, Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting
Kelly A. Conroy is director of Pinnacle Healthcare Consulting and brings more than 30 years of healthcare finance, management, and leadership experience with significant experience in value-based care. As a leader in the field, she’d contributed through multiple start-up healthcare companies with a leading-edge focus on advancements in care delivery and alignment.
Kelly started the first Medicare ACO in the country, which delivered nearly $40 million in savings in its first year and has gone on to manage some of the most profitable ACOs in the country. She is now sought after as a senior advisor and consultant, having developed a reputation as one of the most experienced and effective ACO professionals in the country. As a true catalyst driving the shift in health care culture toward physician leadership, her understanding and strategic vision are unmatched, along with her comprehension of the latest government-proposed valued-based agreements.
From starting healthcare organizations to serving in multiple senior executive leadership roles, Kelly is a seasoned executive with a career record of negotiating and increasing revenues through new product offerings while optimizing efficiency and productivity in the medical field.
Learn more about Kelly Conroy - LinkedIn
About Relentless Health Value
American Healthcare Entrepreneurs and Executives you might want to know. Talking. Relentless Health Value is a weekly interview podcast hosted by Stacey Richter since 2014. A dynamic healthcare entrepreneur and innovator, Richter has spent more than twenty years mentoring clients and colleagues in the shared pursuit of healthcare value. Subscribe to the podcast and spend an hour with us every Thursday. Relentless Health Value is the show that connects you with other healthcare leaders trying to achieve the Triple Aim of improving population health and patient experience, while managing costs effectively. Our mission is to help transform healthcare by breaking down silos and connecting disconnected parts of our industry. The first step toward collaboration is simply knowing what others are working on and wrestling to overcome. Let’s get inspired. Let’s talk to healthcare leaders and innovators who are making waves in our industry and who can inspire us. Let’s hear from the boisterous and from those who are quietly achieving greatness. Let’s support those who can turn disjointed healthcare services into value-based systems. Finally, let’s join healthcare builders and disrupters who share our goals to reorder the healthcare universe. Everyone working in the healthcare industry has a story to tell. Follow them on: Twitter / LinkedIn