Our Initiatives

NCI’s primary work is to convene clinical, behavioral, and social partners from its clinically-integrated network to engage in value-based arrangements with payors (health insurers) serving North Country patients. NCI accomplishes this through 2 structures: the Healthcare Partners of the North Country Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and the North Country Independent Practice Association (IPA). In all, there are approximately 26,000 patients in the region who are ‘attributed’ to NCI’s value-based arrangements. While each arrangement is unique, they all seek to better steward their attributed patients’ healthcare costs by increasing primary care engagement (including services such as annual wellness visits, cancer screenings, care management, recommended immunizations, thorough documentation of patients’ chronic and acute conditions, and more), reducing unnecessary or avoidable hospital stays and emergency department visits, improving quality, and connecting patients with any other clinical, behavioral, or social care services in and around the region. Click on the ACO and IPA web pages below to learn more about each structure.