For positioning, Genuine Health buys PremierMD

CEO seeks to be an industry leader

FORT LAUDERDALE — Recently-formed health care company GenuineHealthGrouphas taken another step in developing its South Florida presence.

The Coral Gables-based venture this week acquired Fort Lauderdale’s PremierMD Accountable CareOrganization for an undisclosed amount.

With the purchase, Genuine Health Group CEO Joseph Caruncho hopes to position his company at the forefront of an industry-wide surge from feeforhealth care to amore value-oriented model.

“Physicians… are undergoing themost fundamental change in their practices in over 30 years,” he said in a telephone interview Thursday. “If you don’t [provide good care], you’re going to make less money.”

Previously, Carunchowas cofounder and CEO of Preferred Care Partners, a Medicare Advantage plan that grew to 55,000 members and more than $750 million in annual revenues. United Healthcare acquired Preferred in 2012.

Last year, Caruncho founded Genuine Health Group and intends to make the company the single point of contact for physicians amidst the transition to value-based care. Caruncho believes his company can help Medicare providers better understandnewregulations implemented under the 2015Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act.

Known as MACRA, the law represents amajorchangeinthe wayMedicare providers receive payment. Instead of earning direct payments for treating patients, a larger percentage of the paymentwould be rooted invalue. Certain quality-tracking measures are to be implemented, and providers would receive more or less funding based on performance against those standards.

PremierMD was in a good position to adapt to those changes. As an accountable care organization, the company already focused on rewarding providers for demonstrating high-quality healthcare results.

Using that foundation, Caruncho intends to transition PremierMD to an advanced payment model. By assuming the financial risk for the cost of caring for Medicare patients within the organization, member physicians are absolved from MACRA’s stringent reporting requirements.

Beginning in2019, theywould also qualify for a 5 percentMedicare Incentive Payment. Both companies would then split the revenues.

alelopez@sun-sentinel.com, 954-778-5181 or Twitter @ajlb95