Who we are

Ascension Seton Health Alliance is an accountable care organization (ACO) founded in 2012 to provide high-quality care for patients and families. ACOs are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare providers who have come together to deliver efficient, coordinated, high-quality care. A clinically integrated network (CIN) was created to address different stakeholder needs such as providing affordable care for patients, streamlining processes for physicians, and minimizing unnecessary costs for payers and employers.

Our structure and partnerships

Since 2012, we have evolved into three entities:

1. Seton Accountable Care Organization, Inc. (“Seton ACO”) – Implements the CMS Medicare Shared Savings Program with four clinically integrated practices: Austin Regional Clinic, Lone Star Circle of Care, Capital Medical Clinic, and Seton Hospitalist Services 
               For more information on the Seton ACO, click here. 
2. Ascension Seton Health Alliance (“ASHA”) – Clinically integrated network (CIN) of primary care physicians (PCPs) and specialists, allied health professionals, hospitals, and post-acute facilities and agencies for the adult population in greater Austin and Waco 
3. Dell Children's Health Alliance (“DCHA”) – CIN for the pediatric population in greater Austin and Waco

Other than Seton ACO, which has a direct arrangement with CMS for Medicare beneficiaries, our other entities partner with commercial insurance payers to deliver value-based care. These payers include Aetna and BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS).In addition to third party payers, Ascension Seton Health Alliance also manages value-based care for Ascension employees on the SmartHealth insurance plan.

Delivering value-based care

Ascension Seton Health Alliance (ASHA) allows independent physicians and groups to join together to improve communication and coordination among participating providers. This collaboration is intended to generate substantial efficiencies, improve quality patient care, and control costs. ASHA provides resources and infrastructure to do the work and provides access to payer contracts that financially reward physician members for the value created.

Improving population health requires many strategies. These are just some of the ways Ascension Seton Health Alliance is providing value-based care:

• Care management and health strategies - Ascension Seton Health Alliance has a team of nurse navigators, social workers, clinical outreach workers, clinical outcomes and performance measures analysts, and project managers to help reduce costs and improve patient outcomes. The care management team supports patient care during transitions and works to reduce avoidable and non-emergent visits to the hospital. The team also manages patients with chronic, complex conditions and supports patients with reminders and instructions regarding preventative treatment and screenings.
• Practice support - ASHA also provides the CIN practice support in the form of data analytics and physician relation managers. Coding and billing support are also available for practices who may need training and assistance. The analytics team creates business intelligence solutions that enable data-driven decisions. The physician relations team supports practices in their efforts to deliver value-based care by helping with issues surrounding participating provider agreements, shared savings distribution, performance measurement and practice processes, and other additional CIN outreach.
   
  If you are a physician and are interested in joining our clinically integrated network, please submit a Provider (Practice) Network Interest Form.
• Post-acute network - ASHA has created a network of facilities and agencies that provide skilled nursing, hospice, and home health care services. The facilities in our network have committed to providing high-quality care and putting the patient first along with allowing their performance to be evaluated. This is critical for the patient transition from hospital admission to post-acute care.
   
  If you are a post-acute facility or agency and are interested in joining our post-acute network, please submit a Facility Network Interest Form.

Contact us

If you’d like more information, you can email the Physician Relations team at shaphysicianengagement@ascension.org