Intermountain Healthcare’s Castell Achieves $13.9 Million in Medicare Cost Savings in 2021, Marking Fourth Straight Year of Increased Savings

Working with participating providers at Intermountain Medical Group and Grandview Family Medicine, the accountable care organization for Castell – Intermountain’s value-based care subsidiary – was able to generate a $13.9 million in savings for Medicare, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

CMS released the 2021 results for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, and Castell Accountable Care – in partnership with Intermountain Medical Group and Grandview Clinic, improved their performance for the fourth straight year, continuing to increase savings each year since the Castell ACO was formed.

Performance in 2021 was the ACO’s highest savings generated to date, up from $11.5 million in savings in 2020. This also marks the third consecutive year that the Castell ACO received a quality of care score of more than 95%.

Castell’s ACO saw sustained improvement on nearly all ACO quality measures. Most notably, Castell saw improvement in fall screenings, ensuring patients were screened for their risk of a fall 94% of the time.

Additionally, the Castell ACO improved the control of high blood pressure for patients with hypertension. More than 73% of all hypertension patients had blood pressure within an adequate range – an improvement from 68% the previous year.

Finally, with education and enhanced awareness, Intermountain improved the HbA1C control of patients who have diabetes. The ACO reported that 93% of all diabetes patients had an HbA1C measurement of less than 9%.

“COVID-19 forever changed the way healthcare is delivered. Through the initial phases of the pandemic and the subsequent surges of the Delta and Omicron variants, Castell – in partnership with Intermountain Medical Group and Grandview Clinic – was able to adapt to these changes while ensuring our Medicare patients still had access to high-quality care,” said Eric Cragun, executive director of government programs for Castell.  

“During the pandemic, many patients were unable to visit their primary care providers. To ensure these patients still received the preventative care that’s so important to their long-term wellbeing, our care coordinators worked with Intermountain Medical Group and Grandview Clinic staff to prioritize annual wellness visits for these patients and contacted them by phone about recommended preventative care,” said Nick Bassett, president of Castell Accountable Care and vice president of population health services for Castell.

“Reaching out to patients shows care and concern for their health and helps them develop a trusted relationship with their provider and this can help lead to a healthier community, not only in the immediate term, but well into the future,” added Bassett.

“Our ACO has experienced steady, continued improvement since beginning the program in 2018. Despite the impacts of the pandemic, we maintained a high standard of care, as reflected in our quality scores. Our commitment to delivering care predicated on value, has benefitted the community members whom we serve, the providers we work with, and the taxpayers who fund Medicare programs,” said Bassett.

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Castell is a comprehensive health services company that helps healthcare providers, payers, health systems, and accountable care organizations achieve success in value-based care. Castell’s impactful analytic products and innovative care solutions are designed to accelerate organizations’ transition from volume to value and improve outcomes for patients while keeping costs more affordable. Castell is an Intermountain Healthcare company.

About Intermountain Healthcare

Headquartered in Utah with locations in seven states and additional operations across the western U.S., Intermountain Healthcare is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, medical groups with some 3,900 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called SelectHealth with more than one million members, and other health services. Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs.