Daniel Sternthal Quoted in Houston Business Journal
"Doctors group files for ACO designation"

Seyfarth Shaw Houston attorney Daniel Sternthal was quoted in the Houston Business Journal on August 26. The article discussed IntegraNet, a Houston-based independent physician association and integrated delivery network, and its application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Pioneer Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Model program, which would allow for a quicker way for the company to become federally designated as an official ACO.

According to the article, "IntegraNet contracts with independent doctors’ offices to oversee care of their Medicare patients. The organization has developed quality measurements for the doctors to follow that improve care for those patients and lead to better outcomes, such as shorter hospital stays and better management of chronic conditions, the doctors say. The doctors’ Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements are based on their performance on those measurements. The organization also helps doctors transition to electronic medical records, another requirement of the ACO model."

“They’re really like a precursor to ACOs before the government got involved,” Daniel commented. The firm represented IntegraNet in the application process for the Pioneer ACO Model program.