Physician Coalition Launches Accountable Care Organization for Alaska

The introduction of this Medicare-focused program is in response to the rapidly growing population of Medicare patients in the state. According to the Alaska Commission on Aging, the senior population is the fastest growing demographic in the state. Alaskans older than age 60 now represent more than 20 percent of the state’s total population; this age cohort increased by 68 percent between April 2010 and July of 2022.

The Medicare website notes that ACOs are not any kind of insurance plan or health management organization. When providers form an ACO, Medicare administrators allow providers the opportunity to request patients’ medical information. (Medicare patients may opt out of information sharing, if they wish.) The ACO model was established in the Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Envoy was founded by an array of medical practices, starting with the Alaska Heart and Vascular Institute, where Quinn works as a cardiologist. Other founders include Orthopedic Physicians Alaska, Internal Medicine Associates, LaTouche Pediatrics, Anchorage Fracture and Orthopedic Clinic, Anchorage and Valley Radiation Therapy Centers, and Alaska Digestive and Liver Disease.

As a clinically integrated network, these practices share infrastructure to coordinate patient care, yet all members remain independent practitioners. Member physicians collaborate around shared goals of providing quality care, improving overall population health, and shifting the healthcare system to prioritize value and quality rather than just quantity.