Authored by Dr. Marc Bard, Chief Innovation Officer in Navigant's Healthcare practice, and Michael Nugent, Director of Navigant's Managed Care Pricing group, the white paper focuses on the drivers, or critical competencies, that providers and payers can follow now to prepare for a successful future transition to the ACO model. These include the ability to:

• Design, organize and manage an efficient and effective clinical delivery system
• Integrate care across time, settings, disciplines, providers and geographies
• Relate price back to cost, market and value
• Rationally distribute premium and potential savings dollars
• Live and thrive simultaneously in two paradoxical and potentially contradictory models for a period of time

"Now is a pivotal time for healthcare providers, especially the early adopters, to determine the direction of their future healthcare practices for increasing quality and efficiency," said Dr. Bard. "ACOs are a big part of that future, and early adopters of this have an opportunity to lay the foundation for care redesign and alignment of payment with value."

Little has been written on the pragmatic "rules of the road" that will guide the transition to a more affordable, accessible and quality delivery system. However, action is nonetheless proceeding, particularly by providers that are exploring how they need to manage in a revenue constrained industry. These rules of the road from early adopters include:

• Design the business model to achieve historical margins, but with a lower top line
• Simplify payment infrastructure to drastically reduce administrative costs
• Incorporate new tactics such as guarantees, rebates and peak pricing into existing payment and pricing tactics
• Focus the payer/provider dynamic on delivering value to the patient

"It is time to imagine a 'fee schedule' that payers, providers and patients could agree to that would pay for productivity, quality, access - within reasonable markups off of cost and market competitors," said Michael Nugent.

The white paper is the latest in a series of activities being led by Navigant, which secure the firm in the center of the ACO discussion.

• Recently Navigant announced its partnership with Geisinger to develop distinctive methodologies and processes to improve clinical performance for healthcare providers. Geisinger is a clear example of an organization using an ACO model. Geisinger has a comprehensive set of integrated evidence-based standardized processes developed by teams of care-givers to produce predictably high quality outcomes of care.
• Navigant also recently promoted Dr. Bard to Chief Innovation Officer in Navigant's Healthcare practice. He is a nationally regarded expert on physician leadership effectiveness, change management, and organizational design.

Click here to view the entire white paper.

About Navigant Consulting

Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) is a specialized independent consulting firm providing dispute, financial, regulatory and operational advisory services to government agencies, legal counsel and large companies facing the challenges of uncertainty, risk, distress and significant change. The Company focuses on industries undergoing substantial regulatory or structural change including healthcare, energy and financial and insurance services, and on the issues driving these transformations. "Navigant" is a service mark of Navigant International, Inc. Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NCI) is not affiliated, associated, or in any way connected with Navigant International, Inc. and NCI's use of "Navigant" is made under license from Navigant International, Inc. More information about Navigant Consulting can be found at www.navigantconsulting.com.

SOURCE: Navigant Consulting, Inc.

Erin Bowler
Navigant Consulting, Inc.
312.583.3659
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Deborah Schaller
GolinHarris
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