Arches Massachusetts IPA and Valley Medical Group have collaborated to enhance physician-led value-based care in the US.
The partnership aims to support independent primary care and offer providers the tools needed for value-based care.
Through the agreement, Valley Medical clinicians, including physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physicians, physical therapists, and behavioural health clinicians, will retain clinical autonomy and full ownership.
They will also gain access to Arches’ contracting platform, operational support, performance analytics, and care-management infrastructure.
This collaboration facilitates Valley Medical’s direct participation in commercial and Medicare risk contracts, which can be challenging for independent groups to access alone.
Arches is said to be the only fully physician-owned and physician-led accountable care organisation (ACO) model in Massachusetts that operates across both government and commercial risk programmes.
The model addresses issues such as physician governance, transparency, and alignment, which have limited the performance of hospital-owned ACOs.
Arches’ approach is based on the premise that clinical and financial control by physicians leads to improved care and cost outcomes.
The partnership improves patient access by investing risk dollars into infrastructure, aims to impact total medical expense by reducing avoidable high-cost services, and supports primary care sustainability by providing a viable path for independent primary care providers (PCPs).
The alignment model rewards clinicians with performance distributions linked to quality and cost stewardship, shared savings, and optional equity participation for early-adopting practices.
Arches Massachusetts IPA CEO Dr Chris Kryder said: “For the last 20 years in Massachusetts, PCPs and their patients have struggled inside hospital-controlled settings.
“Valley Medical brings the ideal combination of community commitment and high-quality practice, and we’re proud to partner with a group that shares our mission of strengthening physician and provider-led care across Massachusetts.”
