Medicare started an exciting initiative wherein doctors and other healthcare professionals share goals to improve patient care. This initiative called the ACO REACH program (Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health) , connects organizations such as Equality Health Direct™ with healthcare professionals to provide improved care for patients throughout their health and wellness journey.
Ask your primary care provider if they are part of Equality Health Direct. If they participate in the model, your Medicare benefits will NOT change, and you can visit any doctor, other healthcare professional, or hospital.
Together with our network of primary care providers, Equality Health strives to ensure that all people receive high-quality, affordable, whole-person care that improves and enhances lives regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, or income. Our goal is to help patients gain access to quality care that focuses on their overall well-being – physical, behavioral, and social factors – so they can meet their health and wellness goals.
Participating in ACO REACH helps us work more closely with healthcare professionals, with the shared goal of providing the best care possible.
Voluntary Alignment is a process to select and report, to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), who your primary healthcare provider is. You can log into Medicare.gov to confirm that your primary care practice is your main provider or the main place you go for routine care and to help determine if Equality Health Direct can help coordinate your care.
Routine care can include regular visits and check-ups you receive from a doctor or other healthcare professional and care for other chronic health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension.
Voluntary Alignment will NOT change your benefits, and you can visit any doctor, other health care professional, or hospital.
Selecting a doctor or other healthcare professional through Medicare.gov is your choice AND you can change your mind. If you choose to select a doctor or other healthcare professional through Medicare.gov you should do so yourself. No one else should complete this for you. Medicare will always prioritize your most recent selection if changes are made.
No one is allowed to attempt to influence your choice to select a doctor or other healthcare professional through Medicare.gov by offering or withholding anything in exchange for you to make a selection online.
You remain eligible to receive the same Medicare benefits and you still have the right to use any doctor, other health care professional, or hospital that accepts Medicare, at any time. If you have questions or feel pressured to select a provider online, feel free to ask your doctor or other health care professional, call Equality Health Direct at 1-888-696-1122 or call Medicare at 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227) to ask about ACOs. TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.
