'Accountable Care Organizations' Explores Health Care Industry

CRC Press / Productivity Press is pleased to announce the publication of Accountable Care Organizations: Value Metrics and Capital Formation authored by nationally recognized healthcare expert, Robert James Cimasi. This dynamic book explores the historical background and evolution of the highly anticipated ACO model which is rapidly expanding since its adoption as part of the Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare.

"Bob Cimasi has done it again. He is a thought leader in contemporary healthcare matters, and his new book, Accountable Care Organizations: Value Metrics and Capital Formation, establishes and explains, in plain terms, the operational and financial DNA and genomic construct and understanding for any organization considering the development and operations of an ACO... a must read and resource for any healthcare industry executive," states Roger W. Logan, MS, CPA/ABV, ASA, Senior Vice President of Phoenix Children's Hospital.

The book describes the basis for the development of value metrics and capital formation analyses that is foundational to assessing capacity for change in healthcare organizations considering the development of an ACO, as well as the current efficacy of the model.

"Accountable Care Organizations is the first comprehensive text on capital formation and value metrics for this new healthcare business model," states Dr. David Edward Marcinko, of the Institute of Medical Business Advisors, Inc. "I can think of no one more qualified to write it than Bob Cimasi at Health Capital Consultants... it is destined to become a classic work... read, review, refer, and profit by this valuable resource."

The book examines the Four Pillars of Value in the Healthcare Industry: regulatory, reimbursement, competition, and technology in addressing the value metrics of ACOs, including requirements for capital formation, financial feasibility, and economic returns. It focuses the discussion of non-monetary value on a review of aspects of population health within the context of such objectives as improved quality outcomes and access to care.

"As both a healthcare management educator and as a consultant who has worked on health and professional services transactional advisory work for many years, I applaud the ambitious undertaking of Bob Cimasi's latest book. Cimasi's description of the complex history and evolution of the US health system provides a useful framework for students and professionals who may lack a detailed background in the field. This should help them better understand both how we have arrived at the ACO approach, and how it might work," states R. Brooke Hollis, MBA/HHSA, Executive Director, Sloan Program in Health Administration, Cornell University and Managing Member, Hollis Associates Acquisition Advisors, LLC.

The book also examines the positive externalities of the ACO model, including results for third parties outside the basic construct of the ACO contracts shared savings payments. The potential role and opportunities for consultants in assisting their provider clients in the consideration, development, implementation, and operation of an ACO are also discussed.

About the Author:

Robert James Cimasi, MHA, ASA, FRICS, MCBA, AVA, CM&AA, is CEO of Health Capital Consultants (HCC), a nationally recognized healthcare financial and economic consulting firm headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, since 1993. Cimasi has more than 30 years of experience in serving clients in over 45 states, with a professional focus on the financial and economic aspects of healthcare service sector entities including feasibility analysis and forecasting; valuation consulting and capital formation services; healthcare industry transactions including joint ventures, mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures; certificate-of-need and other regulatory and policy planning consulting; and, litigation support and expert testimony.

He is a nationally known speaker on healthcare industry topics, the author of several books, including A Guide to Consulting Services for Emerging Healthcare Organizations (John Wiley & Sons, 1999), The U.S. Healthcare Certificate of Need Sourcebook (Beard Books, 2005), The Adviser's Guide to Healthcare (AICPA, 2010), and Healthcare Valuation: The Financial Appraisal of Enterprises, Assets, and Services (John Wiley & Sons, 2013), as well as numerous chapters, published articles, research papers and case studies, and is often quoted by healthcare industry press. Mr. Cimasi has served for many years as faculty in both an academic and professional basis for continuing education courses. He has provided testimony before federal and state legislative committees and has served as an expert witness in numerous court cases.

Productivity Press, an imprint of CRC Press, is the premier source of information on organizational improvement. CRC Press is the principal science and technology book division of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa company.