Sparks Health part of federal healthcare initiative

Sparks Health System is one of 75 hospitals around the country selected by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to participate in a “Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative” (BPCI) designed to reduce costs.

Sparks, owned by Naples, Fla.-based Health Management Associates, is in the BPCI Model 4 program and is focused on “episodes” related to “major joint replacement of the lower extremity.”

“Under the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative, organizations will enter into payment arrangements that include financial and performance accountability for episodes of care. These models may lead to higher quality, more coordinated care at a lower cost to Medicare,” noted a CMS statement.

Overall, Sparks is one of more than 500 organizations participating in the new initiative. Through this new initiative, made possible by the Affordable Care Act, CMS will test how bundling payments for medical visits can result in more coordinated care for beneficiaries and lower costs for Medicare. Sparks is one of two healthcare facilities in the state participating in the BPCI initiative and the only facility in the northwest region taking part.

“Sparks Health System and its physicians are pleased to be selected by CMS for this innovative pilot project,” Richard Boone, Sparks Health System’s chief financial officer, said in a statement.

St. Vincent Infirmary Medical Center in Little Rock is one of 55 hospitals in the country participating in the BPCI Model 2 program.