Greater Lawrence Family Health Center is gearing up for a new partnership this spring.

In November, the Commonwealth announced that 17 Massachusetts health care organizations were selected as part of the re-procurement of the MassHealth Accountable Care Organization (ACO) program, beginning April 1. Features of this new waiver have motivated the groups in the Merrimack Valley Accountable Care Organization (MVACO) to participate in the 2023 ACO program with new partners.

ACOs are teams of doctors, nurses, other clinicians, and insurance providers who work together to administer coordinated, high-quality health care to their patients. ACOs in Massachusetts care for 1.2 million MassHealth members.

In 2023 and continuing for five years, GLFHC will enter into a new ACO with Community Care Cooperative, known as C3. This “Model B” ACO is made up of 23 health centers throughout the Commonwealth, and has a track record of success for all of its member institutions and their patients.

“GLFHC is excited to be part of C3. Our relationship with Lawrence General Hospital will remain quite strong as our primary location for inpatient services, specialty care, and the hospital experience for our Family Medicine Residency program,” said Guy L. Fish, MD, MBA, President & CEO of GLFHC.

Previously, local health care partners GLFHC and Lawrence General Hospital (LGH) joined together to form the MVACO. Known as My Care Family, the MVACO and AllWays Health Partners managed the health care of patients with MassHealth insurance. My Care Family was a “Model A” ACO and was comprised of staff from both the health center and the hospital, with support from AllWays Health Partners.

Since the MVACO formed six years ago, both GLFHC and LGH have learned much about structuring care coordination for their patients, delivering better care at lower cost, said Dr. Fish. This is one of the reasons GLFHC is partnering with a new ACO.