BHS Forms Accountable Care Organization to Improve Health Outcomes for MassHealth Members

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Berkshire Health Systems, through its Physician Hospital Organization called the Partnership for Health in the Berkshires, and Community Health Programs, in partnership with Fallon Health, will offer a new managed care option — Berkshire Fallon Health Collaborative — for MassHealth members.

The creation of BFHC is part of the state's reform of MassHealth to include Accountable Care Organizations, in which physicians, hospitals, insurers and other health care providers work together to provide integrated care with the goals of improving health outcomes and containing costs.

Effective March 1, 2018, MassHealth members identified by the Executive Office of Health & Human Services as having a Berkshire Health Systems or a Community Health Programs primary care provider will be enrolled in BFHC. MassHealth is a state-administered Medicaid program — funded by the state and federal governments — that provides health care to eligible people who need health coverage.

A key component of ACOs like BFHC is the utilization of community-based health and social service organizations to improve behavioral health care, put in place long-term supports and address health related social needs — all of which contribute to better health outcomes.


"Berkshire Health Systems and our community partners have worked to improve access and to better integrate the care we provide to our community," said David Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems. "We look forward to working with Fallon Health and our community-based partners to better meet the healthcare needs of those who depend on us."

Lia Spiliotes, CEO of Community Health Programs, agreed.

"As Community Health Programs expand its health care network throughout Berkshire County, we are reaching more and more MassHealth residents. We look forward to this new model of stronger care coordination with Berkshire Health Systems and Fallon," she said.

To enroll in BFHC, individuals must live in the BFHC service area, which includes all of Berkshire County. More information about BFHC will be available in the fall online.


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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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