BlueCross withdrawal from ACO has Vermont’s primary care practices worried
Every month, Jon Asselin, the chief financial officer of Primary Care Health Partners, divvies up a substantial payment to each of his association’s five primary care practices, located in the Burlington area, St. Albans, Bennington and Brattleboro.
The funds come from OneCare Vermont, the state’s only “all-payer” accountable care organization, through two different payment programs. The amount depends on the number of patients signed up with each practice’s providers and on what type of insurance those patients carry.
Last year, patients with Medicaid, Medicare and BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont all counted. For this year, the anticipated amount changed suddenly with the private insurer’s announcement in late December that it would not participate in the ACO in 2023.