Marshfield Clinic Demonstrates Improved Quality in Medicare PGP Demonstration

When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) initiated its Physician Group Practice (PGP) Demonstration, it challenged the 10 participating large physician group practices to prove that providing high quality coordinated health care could also save money.

CMS, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, announced that, in the fourth performance year of the five-year Medicare demonstration project, Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wis. has once again improved the quality of health care it delivers to patients while decreasing health care costs.

Marshfield Clinic is one of only two out of the 10 large physician group practices to achieve this honor in each of the four performance years. Because of this success, Marshfield Clinic has so far saved the Medicare program more than $83 million over the four performance years reported.

While the 10 participating group practices showed lower growth in Medicare expenditures collectively in the fourth performance year, Marshfield Clinic was one of five to generate significant savings under the terms of the demonstration that resulted in a performance payment. Those sites, besides Marshfield Clinic, that received performance payments include Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic, Bedford, N.H.; Geisinger Health System, Danville, Penn.; St. John's Health System, Springfield, Mo.; and University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice, Ann Arbor, Mich..