Frequently Asked Questions For Patients

Orange practices population health and can therefore improve your patient experience. Orange provides your physician with the tools to help you get the right care at the right time for the right reasons. We will also help make certain that you are seeing the best doctors through our extensive provider network by closely working with your Primary-Care Physician. We will provide your physician with educational resources to help you navigate your health care plan.

As explained by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), “when your health care providers participate in an ACO, you should see better, more coordinated care over time. With an ACO, you’re the center of care, and your satisfaction is one of the goals. Over time, you may notice that:

• You don’t have to fill out as many medical forms that ask for the same information.
• The health care providers that you see all know what’s going on with your health because they communicate with each other.
• You don’t need to repeat medical tests because your results are shared among your health care team.
• The providers participating in the ACO will work with you to make sure their health care decisions reflect your preferences.”

No. All of your Medicare benefits remain the same. You can visit any physician without a referral, however we do encourage you to utilize your Primary-Care Physician so they can fully ensure the best quality of care.

There is absolutely no cost to you or your doctor.

For a patient to be attributed to an ACO, their Primary-Care Physician must be an ACO participant. If you are interested in seeing a physician in our ACO, search our Directory, or alternatively contact us today and speak to your Primary-Care Physician.

Federal law protects the privacy and security of your medical information. The group of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers in the ACO working together on your behalf will be able to read your medical records, along with other office staff authorized to help coordinate your care. Each of your health care providers won’t only know about the health issues that they’ve treated, they’ll have a more complete picture of your health by sharing information with your other health care providers.

Contact your doctor’s office for more information about how they protect your medical information, or call 1-800-MEDICARE to learn more about how Medicare protects your medical information.

When a doctor participates in the ACO, their patients or beneficiaries are not participants. Patients of participating ACO physicians benefit from the highest quality of care, at the right time, and in the right setting.

Ask your physician if they participate in an ACO. If so, they can provide you with additional information. If not, encourage them to participate in an ACO today.

MACRA, which heavily pushes forward ACO models, recently passed both houses handily. Medicare Alternative Payment Models have been bipartisan.

Clif Gaus, President and CEO of the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS) recently stated:

“Observers at NAACOS are hearing from congressional contacts that ACOs are not part of any repeal. Their value holds up as a market-based alternative to fee-for-service at one extreme and capitation at the other, and with 200,000 physicians participating, Tom Price will recognize that and support an advanced payment model for physicians with the goal of population health management.”

If you previously declined to share information about your health care with your doctor and wish to change your consent preferences, please call 1-800-MEDICARE.

If you do not wish to allow Medicare to share information about your health care with your doctor, please call 1-800-MEDICARE. Please know that the information that Medicare has about your health care is valuable in helping us provide the highest levels of coordinated care and to better meet your health care needs.

For general questions or additional information about ACOs, please visit CMS or call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.