New Pioneer ACO Model Proposed
- By BSTQ Staff
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced a new pioneer accountable care organization (ACO) model, which officials say “will provide a faster path for mature ACOs” and save Medicare as much as $430 million over three years. The new ACO comes on the heels of strong criticism from hospital and doctor groups who complain that ACOs create more financial risks than rewards and impose onerous reporting requirements. ACOs are a new delivery model created under the Affordable Care Act that offers providers financial incentives to work together to provide high-quality care to Medicare beneficiaries while keeping down costs.
Under the new ACO model, existing integrated-care organizations, such as Geisinger Health System, the Cleveland Clinic and Intermountain Healthcare, will be able to pocket more of the expected savings in exchange for taking on greater financial risk. For lessmature health systems, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it is considering helping cash-strapped provider groups form ACOs by giving them some of their share of anticipated savings up front. CMS also will offer four free “learning sessions” for providers interested in finding out more about starting an ACO.